


Five Days Forward

by gmariam



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M, Present Tense, Some Soul Searching, Some humour, Time Travel, not much angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-18 08:09:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4698641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gmariam/pseuds/gmariam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Gwen falls backward in time, it's up to Ianto to protect the timeline. Five days with Gwen result in more than Ianto expects, including a new friendship and a stronger romance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monday

Working for Torchwood often forces one to accept the unusual and impossible as perfectly normal: aliens that read minds, change color, or buzz the earth looking for cheap wine; technology that swaps bodies, grows limbs, even translates Raxacoricofallapatorian; ships that travel effortlessly through space, time, or the fiery lava pits of Targos Beta.

Of course, working for Torchwood Cardiff means working on a jagged rip in the tattered, worn-out fabric of the universe. One quickly realizes how fragile space and time truly is, and that sometimes no alien, no technology, and no ship is required to tear it asunder and throw one into a mind-boggling, heart-rending, tense-tangling adventure worthy of Issaac Asimov, or even better, Douglas Adams.

* * *

Monday

When Ianto turns to find Gwen standing in the middle of the Hub one night, looking more startled than usual and holding what is clearly some sort of alien technology, he sighs, pours another cup of coffee, and approaches her cautiously. She looks as spooked as a horse that's just stepped on an ice snake; he glances down to be sure, but there are no reptiles and no puddles to be seen.

"Trade your tech for tea?" he asks pleasantly, and she frowns.

"That's coffee, not tea," she points out, sounding slightly dazed.

"I like the alliteration," he replies, remembering too late his grammar lessons in school and his misuse of the vocabulary. He holds out her mug anyway, fairly certain that Gwen doesn't know the difference between alliteration and consonance, but annoyed with himself nonetheless. Watching him warily (maybe she did realize his linguistical blunder), she holds tight to her alien tech with shaking hands. It is some sort of colorful, handheld object that looks like a hexagonal Rubik's Cube, and his brain wants to grab it and puzzle it out immediately before Tosh gets a hold of it. "And apparently you like your hexagon toy. All right. Maybe caffeine is a bad idea right now."

"No!" she exclaims, reaching for the mug, but he steps deftly out of her way as if holding it hostage, which might not be a bad idea given her sudden appearance with a hexagonal alien puzzle toy. Coffee for information? "Sorry Ianto, it's just that I'm …I'm not sure what's happened."

"And coffee helps?" Ianto asks, earning a frenzied nod of agreement.

"God yes. One minute I was standing at Tosh's station, and the next I was…well, here."

"Still standing at Tosh's station," Ianto points out.

"But no Tosh," says Gwen, glancing around in confusion. "And no Owen, no Jack." She turns back to Ianto. "And you're here, but you weren't before. You'd gone upstairs for something."

"Instead of standing at Tosh's station?" asks Ianto, and she nods. He inclines his head toward the sofa, starting to get some idea of what might be going on and trying to get his verb forms in proper shape to deal with what could very well be a long night. "Come sit down. I'll get some Hob Nobs, since you look like you could do with that more than a coffee right now."

"Lemon-ginger?" she asks plaintively, and he nods; some things never change, then.

"Naturally. And maybe some chamomile tea?"

"I'm not in shock," she protests.

"Earl Grey, then," he offers, and she accepts. Still clutching her hexagonal prize, she sits on the sofa, gazing around the Hub with those wide eyes. He watches her for a moment, idly wondering how such big eyes sometimes miss so much, then heads to the kitchenette to brew some tea. He returns to find her staring at her hexagon as if it held the answer to life, the universe, and everything.

Which, considering some of the things that had come through the Rift, it very well could. (Alien incontinence pads? While it might be a comfort for some to know extraterrestrial life forms struggled with their bowels on occasion, it had been worse than cleaning Azgoth slime from the back of the SUV.)

Shaking his head at the tangents his mind seems to be taking that night, Ianto sits next to Gwen, sipping his coffee before setting it down and holding out his hand for the hexagon. He's definitely curious now, but she holds it tight, going so far as to press it against her bosom as if guarding a small child from the evil clutches of a monstrous alien.

Which, again, could be possible, but Ianto senses the answer is much more simple than a mind control device pumping paranoid delusions into Gwen's brain. Been there, done that, still in therapy.

"Are you unable to let it go, or just unwilling?" he asks, and Gwen stares at him.

"Unwilling," she says. "I don't know what it did to me, and I don't want the same thing happening to you!" After a pause. "At least, I think that's why."

"What if I get a containment box?" he asks. "Could you put it in there?"

"I think so," she says, clearly unsure she'll be able to relinquish it when the time comes. He pats her knee, goes to grab a box from the storage cabinet, and returns to the sofa. Fortunately, Gwen is able to put the colorful hexagon into the box fairly easily, confirming Ianto's suspicions that she is not, in fact, being controlled by alien technology.

"Tell me what happened," he says.

"Where are the others?" she asks instead, as if he hadn't said anything. Sometimes he wonders if he did, given how many times his questions to both Gwen and Owen (and sometimes Jack, if he's honest, though never Tosh, which is why he still likes her best of all, even if he is sleeping with Jack) go unanswered in favor of their own questions first. He sighs, knowing that whatever has happened to Gwen is officially His Problem now; it could be an even longer night than anticipated.

"Tosh has a date, Owen is secretly sulking about it, and you just left to have dinner with Rhys." She raises an eyebrow, and he rolls his in response, knowing she's waiting for him to finish. "And Jack is…out. Working." The look Gwen gives him—exasperation mixed with pity—is one of her more irritating looks, and Ianto ignores it in hope that she won't say anything. Jack  _is_  out, and he  _is_ working. Gwen doesn't need to know that he's meeting one of their alien contacts at an underground strip club for displaced extraterrestrials with multiple limbs. She wouldn't understand.

Besides, Ianto went last time. It's his night off from tentacles.

He clears his throat.

"So you just left to meet Rhys, only you're wearing different clothes and you seem rather startled. I'm assuming you didn't come back on your own. Having a guess, I'd say you touched your alien toy and showed up here."

She nods slowly; he wonders if he should get her some paracetamol or a dictionary, as she looks both pained and completely confused.

"What day is it?" he asks, trying to be patient when it's all quite obvious to him: alien tech, rift in time, clear as day.

"Friday the 5th," she replies. Her mouth forms a small 'o' as she finally realizes what he's leading toward. "What day is it for you?"

"Monday the 1st," he replies. "Which confirms it. Congratulations on your first real jump in time!"

"My first—what?" she asks, confused once again. He shakes his head with a fondness he doesn't quite feel (he's almost wishing he was being felt up by green tentacles as opposed to explaining the space-time continuum to a woman who measured time by how long she could chase a Weevil in high-heeled boots. Which was impressive, but still.)

"You picked up the hexagon and were transported five days into the past. Think about it. Do you remember leaving Monday night to meet Rhys at Café Lou?"

"Yes," she says. "And then we—"

Ianto holds up a hand. "Stop. Timelines."

"What?"

"You can't tell me what happened because it hasn't happened yet. You just left for the restaurant." He glances at his watch. "Or it's happening right now. Either way, I don't want to know what you and Rhys get up to in your spare time. And because you've lived five days ahead of me, if you tell me anything that's going to happen, it could inadvertently change the timeline."

"And that's bad?" she asks so innocently that Ianto almost wants to cry.

"It's bad."

He can practically see the wheels and gears shifting as she attempts to wrap her brain around the intricacies of quantum entanglement, causality, and the grandfather paradox. He sips his coffee and waits.

"If I tell you something that changes the future, that means I might not come back after all, which would mean I couldn't tell you something to change the future, which means I could come back because it wasn't changed, which means-"

"High marks, Ms. Cooper!" he proclaims, earning a rueful smile in return. "It's a paradox. Not a big one, I suspect, but quite possibly big enough to take out most of Cardiff."

"Seriously?" she gasps, choking on her tea.

"I have no idea," he replies with a shrug. "I'd suggest we ask Jack given his proclivity for mucking about in time, but something tells me it would be best if we kept this to ourselves."

He stands to take his mug back to the kitchen. Gwen follows him, protesting loudly.

"How do we do that? I work here, Ianto. I don't want to hide from everyone. I want to…oh my god, I want to see Rhys! I can't keep this from him! We're getting married in a month!"

She sets her teacup down with a clatter and turns to leave. Ianto lets out his put-upon sigh (which she of all people should recognize most by now) and grabs her elbow.

"Gwen, what would you do if you were having a romantic dinner with your fiancé and you came running up to interrupt it?"

"I would—" She stutters to a stop. "Well, I'd probably shoot myself. Think I was an alien imposter or something." Yet another look of confusion mars her face; Ianto wonders if he should start slipping vitamin supplements into her beverages to keep the wrinkles at bay. "Wait, how did you know I wasn't an alien imposter?"

"Are you?" he asks.

"No!"

"That's how I know," he says, and waits for it.

"If I was an imposter, that's what I'd say."

"And if you were an imposter, you'd probably have neutralized me by now," he returns. "Not to mention, I think the Hub would have picked up on it."

She is silent for a moment.

"You didn't even think of it," she says, and he shakes his head.

"I did, I just dismissed it as soon as it came to mind. You're too you to be anyone else right now, Gwen. So, what do we do about your little trip in time?"

"Send me back?" she suggests, but he shakes his head

"It's only five days. On Friday, you'll pick up the hexagon, disappear, and five minutes later you can walk through the front door again and reassure everyone you're all right."

"But what do I do until then? I can't stay here because I don't remember running into myself, and I can't go to Rhys because I'm already with him. Why can't we figure out how this works and send me back?"

Ianto quietly admits to himself that messing with Gwen is almost as much fun as messing with Owen. After admitting it, he acknowledges a tiny sliver of guilt before setting it aside, then runs with it.

"Torchwood policy. We have protocols in place for this sort of thing." Which, technically, is true. They're ridiculously archaic, however, and need to be updated.

Very soon he won't be able to keep a straight face every time Gwen gapes at him. "We have protocols for time travel?"

"We have protocols for everything," he says, and assumes a professional stance to start rattling off the improvised bullshit he's become quite good at over the course of a year and a half covering up alien activity in southern Wales. "If the agent in question travels between one hour and one month in backward in time, they are required to maintain the timeline and catch up to themselves by remaining out of sight." She stares at him, and he shrugs. "Think of it as a forced vacation," he says, then continues.

"If the agent in question travels between one month and one year backward in time, it is the director's discretion as to what action should be taken. And if the agent has traveled back more than a year in time, then every effort is made to return them in to their proper timeline before the universe implodes."

And just like that Gwen ruins Ianto's little game. "Then why did you shoot Owen for following protocol when Jack and Tosh were stuck in 1941?"

"Because Owen is a twat," he replies as casually as he can. "Personally and professionally."

"I'm surprised you haven't shot him again," she murmurs, and he leans forward to share a secret.

"Don't think I haven't considered it."

She grins, he smiles back, and suddenly they've bonded. Ianto sort of wants to shower, because he feels like he's been contaminated, but he can't, it's still His Problem since Jack is getting groped at the strip club and won't be in any condition to deal with Gwen when he returns.

"So what do I do?" she asks again, this time sounding like a lost puppy. "Where do I go?" Ianto freezes, seeing where this is heading and desperately trying to think of a way out of it before Gwen says—

"Can I stay at yours? Just for the week?"

A sigh. A silent groan in his head. If he could roll his eyes without moving them he would. "I'm not sure that's the best solution."

"It'll be fine," she replies in that insensitive manner she's mastered with the team. "I won't be in your way. You won't even know I'm there."

"Gwen, how am I supposed to explain why your future self is staying at my flat?" He watches her struggle with an answer.

"Don't say anything?" she suggests. "Who do you need to explain it to anyway?"

He stares at her, at a loss for words in spite of how well he knows her. She truly doesn't think that hiding in his flat for the rest of the week will be any inconvenience for him. Because he's couldn't possibly be seeing anyone outside Torchwood, and he's certainly not serious about Jack. They only fucked around the Hub before Jack ran off with his Doctor. They don't go back to Ianto's flat most nights now. They certainly don't cook dinner together on their rare nights off, or curl up on the sofa and watch telly, or have loud sex on the sofa when the telly is crap.

No, Gwen is Gwen, and she still doesn't realize that the world doesn't revolve around her, that it's not cold and lonely for the rest of them, and that Ianto has far more of a life than he did six months ago. A life he's rather enjoying at the moment, and one that does not include hiding his annoying coworker away in his flat in order to avoid destroying the universe.

Bloody Torchwood.

"Never mind," he says. "You can stay at mine, but there are rules."

"Of course there are," she murmurs, and he gives her a pointed look.

"Would you rather spend the week in a safe house with a lost Bartledanian?"

Big round eyes again and a vigorous shake of the head. Maybe he should get her an eye patch so he'd only have to gaze back at one instead of two.

"Let's go," he says. "I'll explain the rest on the way."

* * *

Ianto leads the way down the corridor toward his flat, trying to remember the last time Gwen had been there. Checking up on him after Lisa? No…maybe after the cannibals. No, she'd been shot and sleeping with Owen, maybe it was after…well, it must have been after Jack left. And she hadn't even been checking up on him, but following the others for a night of drunken consolation. First Tosh had shown up with wine, followed by Owen with beer, followed by Gwen with some god-awful mixer.

He probably still had the mixer.

She'd been over since, surely? There had been that one time after…no, that was Tosh's place…maybe after he'd been shot…no, she'd texted him, though. Ianto pauses with the key in the lock as he realizes that Gwen Cooper is about to spend the week in his flat, and he hasn't straightened up for days. Shit.

"Is everything all right?" she asks, and he offers her a rueful grin over his shoulder.

"Bit of a mess, I'm afraid. We were rather…er, I was running late this morning." She frowns at his slip before patting his shoulder in understanding. He was late, but that was only because he and Jack had spent the quiet weekend indulging in just about every hedonistic fantasy they could think of; cleaning up after themselves had not been a priority.

"It's all right, love. Last time you were at mine there was laundry on the table and dishes in the sink!"

Which was true, but he and Owen had been dropping her off after a bit too much at the local, not spending the week with her and Rhys.

"Yes, well, sorry. Come on in, I'll just nip around and pick up a bit while you make yourself at home."

He steps into the main room, a combination of living room and dining room. The table is clear of food and crumbs, though it is obvious there were two people eating there recently as two bamboo placemats are set opposite one another and several leftover chopsticks and napkins from dinner still litter the center of the table for next time he and Jack actually make it back to eat. There are an extra shoes by the door and a brown leather coat on the hooks by the entry (his is black, of course.) A few magazines litter the table, including a rather risqué one that causes Gwen to giggle. The sofa looks rumpled but decent, until Ianto spots Jack's boxers under a pillow and makes to grab them, stuffing them in his pocket. When he turns, Gwen is grinning.

"House guest?" she teases.

"Something like that," he murmurs, trying not to blush. "Come on, I'll show you the spare room."

"Thanks for doing this, Ianto," she says, following him down the short hallway. "I really appreciate it, I know—"

She stops as she takes in the spare room: there is a large treadmill taking up half the space, several boxes stacked in the corner that have now been there for over a year, and a computer desk with a rather sophisticated setup for monitoring the Rift. The walls are bare, the windows curtainless, the floor rugless. She glances around, frowning.

"I can sleep on the sofa," she says.

"Nonsense," Ianto replies, wanting to maintain at least some semblance of normalcy, which means guests sleep in spare rooms, even if there are no proper beds. Besides, if Gwen knew what had gone down on that sofa recently, she'd probably want to sleep under the kitchen table. "I have an air mattress, sheets, towels, and blankets. We'll fold up the treadmill, clear some space for you to spread out in for a few days."

"If it's too much trouble," she starts, and he waves her off.

"It's not a problem. This way you'll have your own room rather than the sofa, and we…I won't wake you in the mornings." It occurs to him that Jack will need some assistance after meeting his contact, but Ianto doesn't want Jack and Gwen in his flat at the same time for that. He'll have to go back tonight the Hub, then. Putting Jack off from coming back to the flat for the rest of the week will be tricky, though.

"That's all right, I have to get up too." She stops. "Oh, but I can't go to work with you." He shakes his head. "What am I going to do all day?"

"Relax," he says, and motions to her to help him get things sorted, starting with the exercise equipment. "Torchwood doesn't do many days off, so think of it as a blessing in disguise. Sleep in, lay around, watch telly, read, sleep some more." He pauses. "Seriously. Stock up on sleep because you know you'll need it as soon as you catch up to yourself."

"I can't even go out, can I?" she asks softly.

"Timelines," he says.

"Shit," she replies. "This is serious."

"Time travel usually is," Ianto says. He leaves the room to track down some linens and she follows closely behind him, still talking.

"Jack makes it sound so fun and easy," she says, and Ianto stops, thinking of Jack's last trip through time, the one where he was bound and tortured for a year that ultimately reset itself, a year none of them remember and none of the others know even happened. Not so fun and easy, but then Gwen never sees the shadows when it comes to Jack, only the bright lights.

Gwen walks into him from behind as he gathers wool, like something from a comedy routine. He shakes his head, grabs the required linens (Gwen gets the flowery sheets Lisa had purchased but Ianto has never used. He both resents her for it and is glad they are finally being used again) before dropping them off in the guest room and heading to the kitchen. He stands in the doorway gaping at the mess—when did he become such a slob? Yes, he and Jack were distracted and in a hurry that morning, but still. There are dishes in the rack, bowls in the sink, coffee mugs on the table, and the trash is full to overflowing. His cupboards are probably a nightmare given how much food they'd gone through over the weekend. Gwen bumps his shoulder.

"I didn't realize you had a roommate," she teases. "It's almost as if Jack were living here instead of you!"

He gazes at her with slightly wild eyes, wondering if she is honestly that oblivious or simply in denial. He has no reply, and can only watch with a sick sort of horror as she walks past him over to the refrigerator, where a magnet is holding up a picture of him and Jack on the sofa at the Hub, heads back and fingers loosely intertwined as they grinned at one another. She tilts her head and stares at it.

It had been after a long and difficult Weevil chase a few months back, and they'd both been exhausted. They'd returned to the Hub and dismissed everyone immediately, but Tosh had snapped the picture before leaving and had printed it the next day. Jack keeps a copy tucked into his mirror at the Hub. Gwen is staring at the picture as if seeing Jack and Ianto on the sofa together for the first time.

"Oh." She turns to gaze around the kitchen, at the dishes and mugs, then into the other room at the placemats and shoes and coat. She even glances at Ianto's pockets, where Jack's boxers are poking out; why hadn't he tossed them into his room when he'd had the chance?

"Am I going to find both sides of your bed mussed up if I check your room?" she asks. "Two sets of towels, a second toothbrush?"

"Gwen," he starts, then blows out a breath when she covers her mouth to stifle her reaction.

"I'm completely thick, aren't I?" she asks. "You're seeing someone."

"Er," he says, suspecting that in spite of the evidence right before her, PC Cooper hasn't come to the right conclusion about his love life. No, his sex life. He doesn't have an actual love life, just a lot of sex. Which is probably part of the confusion.

"But that's brilliant!" she says, then stops and glances back at the picture on the fridge. "Only you're not sleeping with Jack again, are you?" she asks. "Believe me, I'd understand if you were, but you can't throw away something good for something that might never happen."

Ianto raises an eyebrow, unsure whether she is talking about Owen or Jack in this context. "Speaking from experience?" he asks, and she nods, running her index finger across Jack's face on the photograph.

"Yeah," she says softly. "I've realized some things recently. And—oh!" She stops and whirls toward him. "Am I in the way, then? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I tried," he drawls, and her hand flies to her mouth once more.

"I'm so sorry, sweatheart, you did, didn't you? Well, maybe I can stay…I don't know…at a hotel? Or with Owen? He's dead, he hardly stays at his flat anymore." They both wince at the truth of it.

"You're already here, so you're staying. No sense tangling up the timeline even more by letting someone else in on it."

"But your…" she takes a deep breath "…boyfriend won't mind?"

"Boyfriend?" he asks in surprise. Even if Jack was spending an unusual amount of time at the flat compared to the Hub, the term 'boyfriend' wasn't exactly on their radar, was it? Jack would certainly scoff and Ianto wasn't sure if he wanted a boyfriend, it sounded awfully school-age.

"You've got shorts in your pocket," she says.

"They're mine?" he offers, and she grins knowingly.

"Well, boyfriend or girlfriend, do I get to meet them this week?" she asks, and he shakes his head so vigorously he's sure his eyeballs are rattling back and forth.

"Probably not the right time for it," he says. "Too many explanations." To his relief, she deflates somewhat and agrees.

"After I catch up with myself?"

Tempted to blow it all out of the water and confess everything just to see the look on Gwen's face, Ianto opens his mouth before deciding against it, bites his tongue, and nods. He starts to think of ways she can happen upon it, most of which involve complicated sexual positions around the Hub. He doesn't realize he's staring into space until she waves her hand at him.

"Must be someone special," she says, and there is that fond look on her face, as if she's watching a kitten play with a string. Ianto snaps out of it by snorting, completely destroying the mood and earning a surprised start from Gwen.

"It's complicated," he says, and she nods, touching his arm in support.

"Don't let Jack ruin it for you, Ianto. He's always telling me to hold onto my normal, so now I'm telling you."

"Right," he says. "Okay then. I'm heading back to the Hub for a bit. Will you be all right here on your own?"

She glances around. "You're going to leave me in your flat all by myself?"

"Just don't have any wild parties," Ianto says. "My neighbors already complain about the noise." She raises an eyebrow, but he turns and heads back toward the door without explaining, itching to get out and get back to the Hub, where he can't tell Jack that Gwen's jumped back in time and thinks that Ianto has a boyfriend. Because knowing Jack, he'd find a way to let present-day Gwen know what's going on, which would muck up the timelines since future Gwen is so incredibly clueless.

For a moment Ianto stops, looks at Gwen standing somewhat forlornly in the middle of his flat, and feels the tiniest flare of fond exasperation for her. It's a good thing he's leaving, or he might be tempted to hug her and keep her company. Instead, he gives her a simple nod of the head, and one last set of directions.

"Text me and only me if you need anything. And don't wait up for me." Since he's not planning on returning. Something about Gwen in his flat makes him uncomfortable, but he knows he won't be able to lie to about Jack her all week, so he'll have to come back at some point and spend the night. The problem is he won't be able to lie to Jack all week either and put him off coming back to the flat when it's become such a familiar routine. Ianto thinks maybe he should have checked Gwen into a hotel, but he doesn't trust her to not explore, and at least holed up in his flat he can keep an eye on her.

Before Gwen can admonish him about working late or staying at the Hub or god forbid, sleeping with Jack again, Ianto pulls the door shut behind him and breathes a sigh of relief. So far, paradox averted. Which leaves him four more days of making sure Gwen Cooper doesn't destroy the universe—or his life.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on this on the side for a while. It's a bit different style for me, writing in present tense with an eye for dry humour. This first chapter owes a lot to Douglas Adams, though the references end here. I've tried to keep the dry voice throughout, but it got a bit serious at times. Still, it's been fun, and I do hope you enjoy it! If there are any mistakes, they are my own and I apologize, but my beta is working hard on A Different Life as well as her own new story! Let me know what you think about this, or where you think it's going. It's always fun to hear what readers anticipate happening next. The story is finished, so I'm planning quick updates. Thank you for reading!


	2. Tuesday

Tuesday

Ianto is laying beside Jack the next morning, trying to stay in bed as late as he can before they have to get up and greet the others. Jack's excursion to the strip club for multi-limbed aliens had resulted in a great deal of caretaking during the night, and Ianto is both exhausted and sore, though admittedly extremely satisfied. Jack is drooling on his pillow, his face calm and peaceful, a smile tugging at his lips and his morning erection poking Ianto in the thigh. He'd not been one to enjoy waking up to sex, but it is one of his favorite new habits with Jack, and he wonders how he should approach it this morning.

 

Unfortunately, a text alert from the mobile next to the bed rouses him fully and interrupts his libidinous plans. He bites back a groan when he sees that the message is from Gwen.

 

_You didn't come home last night. Is everything all right?_

He sighs as he sits up to text her back.

 

_Busy night. Weevil convention in Roath._

He promptly deletes it, on the off chance Jack might find it and wonder what's going on between him and Gwen and wouldn't that be the ultimate in ironic complications. He immediately receives another message.

 

_I could have helped._

He sends back one word as he holds in a snort.

 

 

_What should I do all day?_

 

Ianto swears under his breath, glances down at Jack because he's surprised the man hasn't woken up with all the buzzing and fussing, and replies.

 

_Stay in. Lie low. Sleep._

_That's boring._ He can imagine her pout. Her next reply surprises him.

 

_Can I clean the flat?_

_Knock yourself out,_ he replies, then pauses. _Not literally. Can't call for help if you do. Timelines._

He tries not to snigger to himself, but can't help it when she replies.

 

_Ha ha. You're a real comedian. When will you be home?_

That's the second time she's called it home, as if she's living with him rather than hiding out at his place for the week to avoid creating a temporal paradox. It's like having a nagging wife, Ianto thinks, and immediately feels a sense of sympathy for Rhys. He can't tell Gwen he'll be home when and if he figures out a way to let Jack down, nor can he tell her he'll be staying at the Hub all week because that will certainly earn him a lecture on his love life and the choice between the normal boyfriend that doesn't exist and shagging the boss. It's a no win situation, and not for the first time, Ianto thinks that time travel sucks.

 

_When I can. Got to go._

He deletes all the messages, runs a hand through his hair, and once again tries to figure out how to make it through the next four days. Next to him, Jack snuffles into wakefulness.

 

"What was all that about?" he asks, his voice deep from sleep.

 

Ianto turns and says the first thing that comes to mind. "Some work going on at my flat today. I might have to go check on it later."

 

"No problem," Jack replies. Ianto doubts the man really processed what Ianto said. His arm is flung over his eyes, his mouth slack. It's almost as if he has a hangover, only from sex and not drink. Ianto smirks; it's a good look for Jack, and if the tent under the sheets is any indication, he may be exhausted but ready for more. Setting his phone down, Ianto idly wonders how he'll manage to fit in enough sex over the next four days to satisfy them both if he goes back to his flat alone at night. Because he certainly doesn't want Gwen to hear what they get up to; the neighbors really did complain about the noise. But Jack will get even more suspicious if Ianto jumps him during the day, given how hard he usually tries to resist Jack's advances during work hours.

 

He decides to get started early and wakes Jack with his tongue in one of Jack's favorite places. Jack is most appreciative of his method and afterward they enjoy a leisurely shower together before heading upstairs. Tosh arrives soon after, followed by Gwen. Ianto almost says something about his flat, then does a double take and frowns as he turns away. He hadn't considered the difficulty involved in keeping his Gwens straight. He's got one at the Hub and one at his flat; what if he says something to one that he shouldn't and something to the other that he should? One Gwen was enough, now he has two, and it occurs to him that perhaps he should manufacture some sort of out of town emergency, get away from them both, and come back when it's all over. Yes, maybe Torchwood Two needs him for the week.

 

The morning is busy, however, and there is no time to contemplate transferring himself. After a series of texts from future Gwen, as he's taken to calling her, he orders lunch for the others and then bows out of eating with them, telling them he has to check on his flat. Jack offers to go with him, but Ianto waves him off and hurries out of the Hub. In a way, he really is going to check on his flat; if Gwen had planned to clean it, he wants to make sure she's doing it right.

 

She's glad to see him; apparently even one night and half a day alone is too much for her to handle, and Ianto almost, but not quite, feels bad for her. He'd give a paycheck to have twenty-four hours to himself, and she's practically crawling out of her skin. She had, however, scrubbed down the kitchen quite well, washing the dishes, wiping the counters, clearing the table, and even mopping the floor. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all; his flat could be sparkling by the end of the week, even if he has to put everything back where it belongs.

 

"Will you be back tonight?" she asks as they finish the sandwiches he'd picked up for lunch. He glances up at her, hearing the loneliness in her voice, knowing she wants the company, yet wondering if he can give it to her. He can always fake a Rift alert it he wants to go back to the Hub, so he nods.

 

"Might not be 'till after dinner, but I'll text you. I know it's probably a bit boring being on your own all day in someone else's flat."

 

She nods tearfully. "I miss Rhys and the rest of the team. I feel like I did something wrong, and I'm being locked up for it."

 

He shakes his head and touches her arm. Like Jack, Gwen is very tactile, and she responds instantly with a gap-toothed grin of gratitude. "You didn't do anything wrong. You're locked up because, however inadvertently, anything could go wrong with this situation."

 

"I know," she sighs. "But…well, I need some clothes. Do you think you could…I don't know…maybe stop at my flat and get something for me? Just to get me through a few days?"

 

Ianto almost slaps his palm to his face for forgetting such a basic thing as clothing. Then he shakes his head. "Your past self—which is the present one for me—might miss something. I'll stop and pick up a few new things for the week." He cringes, because it would probably have to include undergarments.

 

"Thanks," she says, her voice a bit wobbly, and he's terrified she might start crying now that he's offered to buy her knickers.

 

"You're welcome," he says gently, and he turns to leave.

 

"Ianto? Maybe we could watch a film or something tonight? When you're back?"

 

"All right," he says without really thinking about it, then wonders what kind of movie they might agree on. He likes independent dramas and action thrillers; he suspects she prefers romantic comedies and tear jerkers. Well, they'll find something, even if it's Top Gear; everyone likes Top Gear. He pats her arm again, nods, and heads back to the Hub, making sure to stop at the Hayes first and stashing three bags of clothes and some magazines in the boot of his car for later.

 

* * *

 

The afternoon is quiet and Jack sends everyone home early. He asks Ianto if he'd like to have dinner at Orsino's, one of the nicest restaurants on the Quay. After a brief but guilty image of Gwen sitting alone and hungry in his flat, Ianto smiles and nods, then turns around and makes a call to send her take away. He and Jack enjoy a fantastic meal together, something that still surprises Ianto given their distinct lack of a dating relationship before Jack had left. Ianto wonders how he'll convince Jack to go back to the Hub rather than tag along to his flat like they have been for the last several weeks, hating that he can't drag Jack back to his after such a good meal. When it comes up, he distracts Jack with a very long, very public kiss on the Quay (Gwen is really going to owe him, given how many whistles they receive), then begs off with a lame excuse about getting some cleaning done at the flat due to the work that was done that day.

 

When Jack offers to help, Ianto smiles, kisses him again, and thanks him, but lies and says he's feeling a bit run down after the strip club recovery, which Jack understands well enough since he'd been on the receiving end the last time Ianto had been the one sent in to make contact. He grins and pulls Ianto in for an extremely hot kiss that almost has Ianto throwing caution to the wind and dragging Jack back to his flat so he can shag him into the mattress, Gwen Cooper be damned. Fortunately, Jack steps away, winks, and saunters back to the Hub alone. Ianto watches his arse for a while, takes a deep breath and adjusts his trousers, then heads to the garage to drive home.

 

Gwen greets him at the door, more like a happy puppy than his wife this time, but she looks so excited to see another person after her enforced solitude that Ianto can't help but return her smile. She shows off the living room, which she dusted and organized while he was gone, and he has to admit, she's done a good job by his standards. She even alphabetized his cds and movies because she thought he would appreciate it. He doesn't, because he likes to organize them by genre and release date, but he doesn't tell her that. He does, however, wonder why he's always cleaning up after her around the Hub, to which she replies that it took her all afternoon plus a nap to recover, while he's much more efficient than any of them will ever be.

 

 

She is thrilled with the clothing and throws her arms around him in a smothering embrace. Untangling himself, he hurries for a beer before settling down on the sofa. After a long discussion of their movie tastes (Ianto was right: every movie Gwen suggests is a tear-jerker of epic proportions, though maybe that is more a reflection of her mood than her every day cinematic tastes), they ultimately settle on a science fiction movie starting on BBC Three that neither of them have seen. It is utterly ridiculous, and they spend most of it tearing the science apart and laughing at the fiction. The special effects are like nothing they've seen at Torchwood, and they wonder whether the aliens they've met are better or worse than the way movies portray them.

 

Which leads to a long discussion about life on other planets. As an experienced Torchwood employee and dedicated archivist, Ianto knows much more about aliens than Gwen and shares the stories he's learned and experienced with her. Some are actually Jack's, and a few are even rumours from Torchwood One, but she doesn't need to know that. She's actually listening to him with interest for once instead of asking for favors, and offering an impressed look that Ianto sees only too rarely from her and the others.

 

It's easy to get lost in the other personalities of the Hub, other talents. His is a quiet ability, much like Tosh and her genius with technology, but unlike Tosh, his is a job that operates very much in the background and doesn't usually save the day. At first he needed that, and then he appreciated it as he struggled to recover from the nightmare in the basement; now he's finding that he wants a bit more acknowledgement and excitement from his job, and, for perhaps the first time, Gwen is actually seeing him for who he is, not only what he does with an expensive espresso machine.

 

He rather likes it. And one-on-one with no shadow of Jack hanging over them, he's surprised to find he likes her a bit more than before.

 

It's strange going to bed knowing Gwen is in the next room. He misses Jack. They spend more nights together than apart, the latter being the ones where Ianto is exhausted and falls asleep before hitting the pillow and doesn't have the time or energy to miss Jack's warm body curled up next to his. It is unsettling to realize how much he's grown used to having Jack in his bed. He tosses and turns before finally closing his eyes, trying not to think of Jack at the Hub, sitting at his desk working on reports, or perhaps wanking off in his bunker alone...

 

Only he does anyway, until he finally gives up and pads quietly into the kitchen to make some tea. Normally he'd probably be naked and deep inside Jack at this time of night, but instead he finds himself sitting at his kitchen table, staring idly at the wall while sipping chamomile tea. And then it gets even worse when Gwen comes in, wearing the most unattractive pyjamas he 'd been able to find that afternoon and rubbing her eyes.

 

"What time is it?" she asks sleepily.

 

"One in the morning," he replies, hoping she'll turn around and head back to the guest room. Only she frowns at him instead.

 

"Can't sleep?" she asks. He shrugs in reply. "Mind if I join you?" He does, but he doesn't say so, because he's not so tired that he's rude. So he shrugs again, she smiles as if that's a yes, and setting the kettle to boil again, she sits across from him and leans on her hand.

 

"What's up?" she asks, and Ianto cringes inside. A heart-to-heart with Gwen is not how he wants to solve his insomnia.

 

"Nothing. Just not tired."

 

She raises an eyebrow at that. "You said you were out chasing Weevils last night. You should be tired."

 

"I got a few hours at the Hub," he replies, sipping his tea. He knows he's gone distant again thinking about it because she's eyeing him knowingly.

 

"Were you really chasing Weevils last night?" she asks, and he lies too easily.

 

"Yes."

 

"You weren't at your boyfriend's flat?"

 

He chokes on a sip of tea. "What?" he asks. "What boyfriend?"

 

"The one who's staying here," she says. "I cleaned half the flat, Ianto. If someone is staying over, it's definitely not a woman, because those shoes and that coat and that extra toothbrush and razor in the bathroom do not belong to a woman." She sits back and gives him a triumphant look. He gazes back blandly.

 

"Copper training paid off then," he observes in his driest voice.

 

"I could go somewhere else," she says, reaching out to his hand. "I didn't mean to push you out of your own flat."

 

"Gwen." He puts down his cup and pats her hand as if mollifying his grandmother. "There is no boyfriend. I really was at the Hub last night. I really was busy, and I really did get a few hours of sleep. There's nothing else to it."

 

"You can talk to me, Ianto," she insists. "I think it's great that you're seeing someone outside work. Having Rhys as a lifeline to the outside world has been so important for me. It should be for you too. You don't have to keep it a secret."

 

Sometimes Ianto can't believe how thick she is. He also can't wait to tell Tosh about this when it's all over. And Jack. Jack will get a kick out if, although maybe in the wrong way.

 

"I'm not keeping any secrets," he says, then realizes that yes, he's keeping several, as usual: future Gwen, Flat Holm, the Torchwood Christmas party. And, of course, sleeping with his boss. So he amends his statement. "At least, not anything important."

 

The teakettle whistles and Gwen jumps, startled by the sound. She fixes herself a cup of tea and settles back across from Ianto. "Were you with Jack, then?" she asks quietly, not meeting his eyes as if she's afraid of the answer.

 

"Of course I was with Jack. Weevils, remember?"

 

"You two have been doing a lot of Weevil hunting lately," Gwen points out. "Owen thinks it's not really Weevil hunting."

 

"I shudder to contemplate what he thinks," Ianto murmurs, and Gwen leans forward to pierce him with a look.

 

"He reckons you're shagging," she says, and Ianto sighs.

 

"He always thinks that. It's one reason why I shot him."

 

Gwen's eyebrows fly up in surprise, and then she giggles. Ianto offers a sheepish grin and sips at his tea.

 

"So are you?" she asks.

 

"Are we what?"

 

"Are you shagging?" she repeats, both coy and direct. "Is that where you were last night? Jack's bed?"

 

Ianto is abruptly fed up. There is a patronizing undertone to Gwen's voice that rubs him the wrong way and he's tired of it—tired of her wide-eyed ignorance, her judgmental pity, and her great bloody superiority complex. She thinks she knows best because she has Rhys and everyone should be like her, more human even though at the same time she's _so_ damn blind that he can't take it anymore.

 

"Yes," he replies, his voice level. He secretly enjoys the look of shock, disappointment, and jealously on her face before he stands to take his teacup to the sink. "I was in Jack's bed last night."

 

"Shagging?" she asks. Oh, she's got gall, she does.

 

"Do you really want the explicit details?" he counters, leaning back against the sink and offering a smirk that deflects her exactly the way he wants it to. He learned it from Jack and makes note to try it on Owen the next time the doctor pesters him as well.

 

"Well, no, it's just that…well…"

 

"Well, what, Gwen?" he asks wearily. "It's none of your business who I sleep with."

 

She is quiet for a moment. "What about your boyfriend, the one who stays here?"

 

"There. Is. No. Boyfriend." That was Gwen Cooper, stubborn to the end.

 

"You're sleeping with Jack."

 

"Yes."

 

"Then who's stuff is all around the flat?"

 

Ianto stares at her before he bursts out laughing, even doubles over from it. Gwen watches him with a hurt look on her face.

 

"It's an honest question!" she says defensively. "I'm concerned about you."

 

"There's no need. Everything is fine."

 

"Do you have a roommate?" she asks, as if refusing to see the truth. "Or a friend visiting?"

 

"Only you at the moment," he replies. "Think about it, Gwen."

 

She frowns. "So those things…they're all Jack's?" She is so confused that Ianto starts laughing again.

 

"Yes."

 

"He sleeps here?"

 

Ianto nods, takes several deep breaths, and replies with a smugness he feels only a tiny bit bad about. "He sleeps here, eats here, showers here. Sometimes he cooks, reads, watches television. Works on reports, even. And definitely lots of shagging."

 

Her face crumples. "But I thought he…Ianto, are you living together?"

 

"God no!" he exclaims, holding up his hands. "He lives at the Hub."

 

"But spends the night here?"

 

"Sometimes." Ianto is starting to regret revealing his secret. Gwen is like a dog with a chew toy and will never let it go now.

 

"And he leaves his stuff here," she points out, and Ianto is at a loss for words.

 

"Sometimes."

 

"So it was Jack all along!" she exclaims, jumping up and pointing a finger at him. "The extra dishes and that magazine and oh! The shorts on the couch! Those were Jack's?"

 

Ianto nods, enjoying this even as his own embarrassment starts to set in.

 

"Does he have his own drawer?" she demands, and he hesitates. He really doesn't want Gwen to know Jack has two drawers and closet space, not to mention a shelf in the bathroom vanity, a set of towels, a favorite coffee mug, and a preferred side of the bed.

 

"Maybe?"

 

"You're with Jack," she breathes. "You're not just sleeping with him at the Hub, he's spending the night here with his own drawer which means you're…you're…" She trails off, staring at him.

 

"Dating," Ianto shrugs. "Sort of. Casually."

 

"Ianto!" she squeals. "Sort of casual dating doesn't involve toothbrushes and drawers and cooking and—oh my god, you're a couple!" A slow grin spreads across her face, and for some reason it makes Ianto blush. "You are! You and Jack are a proper couple!"

 

Ianto shakes his head. "No, it's not like that, really."

 

"What's it like then?" she challenges, and he cocks his head, hoping to put her off again.

 

"I thought you didn't want the details."

 

"Oh, now I do. If you're spending the night together and sharing drawers and watching telly and cooking and—oh, do you go out too? On dates?" She is like a kid in a candy store, her excitement palpable, and Ianto is surprised at this reaction. He'd expected something more dramatic—some handwringing, tears, maybe a slap in the face. This is Gwen Cooper, Jack Harkness fangirl extraordinaire. It's no secret she's wanted Jack since the day she started.

 

"When we can," he admits. "We, er, had dinner at Orsino's tonight."

 

"Who paid?" she demands, and he laughs.

"He did, because he asked." She grins, motions for more, and he continues. "But I paid for tickets to the match next weekend because I asked him. We take turns, I suppose. Planning and paying, Rift willing."

 

"You're totally a couple," she says, nodding as if to reinforce her statement.

 

"We're really not," Ianto says, turning around to rinse out his cup. "We enjoy being together, but Jack's not big on commitment."

 

She appears beside him with her own cup, which he rinses as well. "Have you been seeing other people?" When he shakes his head, she continues. "Has Jack?"

 

"I don't know. We spend so much time together between work and…not work… that I not sure when he would." Which was true, although Ianto did wonder what Jack got up to on the rare nights they didn't spend together. Did Jack go on the pull? Did he spend those nights wrapped around a stranger's warm body? Hell, did he have another lover somewhere? Somehow, Ianto doubts it, because it is a hard secret to keep, and unless Jack can time travel again, there really isn't much opportunity for either of them to be with someone else. More than that, though, he doesn't want to think about it. He and Jack have not discussed it, because Ianto suspects if they did it would all be over. He _knows_ Jack is commitment shy because of his immortality and tries to respect that. He is actually fairly happy with what they have, and though there are times when he wants more, Ianto tells himself to enjoy what they have now and when it truly isn't enough, he will make a clean break and move on.

 

As if.

 

Gwen is watching him with a knowing look. He sighs, knowing he has to give her a bigger, better answer. "Gwen, Jack's not a fan of labels, and believe it or not, I get it. Labels carry obligations, and right now, neither one of us wants to feel obligated to something we're not ready for. We're taking things day by day." He yawns suddenly, surprised when his jaw cracks. Gwen pats him on the shoulder.

 

"That's bollocks, but we'll talk about it tomorrow," she says. "You need to get to bed, even if you're not used to sleeping by yourself anymore."

 

"It's not that—" he protests, but she shakes her head.

 

"Why do you think I couldn't sleep either? I was up half the night last night. I'm not used to an empty bed, and I don't think you are either."

 

"It hasn't been that long," he murmurs. Which was true. He'd spent months sleeping alone while Jack was gone.

 

"It doesn't have to be," she says softly. "These things have a habit of sneaking up on us. And I think you've been sneaked up upon."

 

He narrows his eyes at her, wondering what she's implying, but another yawn stops him from thinking about it too deeply, and he passes a hand over his eyes.

 

"I'd appreciate it if you kept it to yourself," he says. "When you've caught up to yourself, that is."

  
"Why?" she asks.

 

"Because we like it that way," Ianto replies very simply. "And because our personal and professional lives are both separate and private."

 

She raises and eyebrow. "Right. We'll add all that to the list for tomorrow."

 

"Gwen…"

 

She leans up to kiss him on the cheek. "I'm serious, Mr. Jones. You have a lot more explaining to do. Tomorrow night: you, me, and a nice bottle of wine."

 

He sees she is determined, and rolls his eyes because he doesn't want to deny her, but doesn't want to appease her either, and an eye roll is a response but not an answer. He turns and heads toward his bedroom.

 

"Good night, Gwen. I hope you sleep better."

 

"You too, Ianto," she says, turning off the kitchen light and following him. She stops at the door to the guestroom. "Thanks for coming back. I know you miss him."

 

"It's one night," Ianto says. "And I did get to make fun of a bad movie with you."

 

"See you in the morning," she says softly. He nods and goes into his room. His bed still looks too big and empty, but he thinks that maybe he'll be able to fall asleep now.

 

As long as he doesn't worry about Gwen's plans for tomorrow night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos! I told you there would be quick updates. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I never intended to string out Gwen's ignorance of Jack and Ianto's relationship. Because now they can have the Big Talk tomorrow! Thanks for reading!  
> PS. I'm sorry about the big spacing, but AO3 adds another space to my Word documents. Very annoying. I'll fix it eventually!


	3. Wednesday

 

Wednesday

Ianto sleeps reasonably well after his talk with Gwen, and as he's getting ready the next morning, he ponders the reasons. The only thing he can come up with is that he's not hiding anything from his temporary roommate anymore. Though it is sometimes fun sneaking around at work, hiding his pseudo-relationship with Jack with her in his flat assuming he was shagging someone else became tiring almost immediately. It is the relief of not keeping a secret, and of not being judged, but then he starts to think of how he still has three days of fooling Jack, and his stomach tightens up again.

Gwen is sleeping when he leaves, so he places a note on the counter and quietly lets himself out. He stops at a nearby bakery and picks up pastries, hoping to have a quiet cup of coffee with Jack before the day starts. Jack seems pleased to see him and they enjoy both the coffee and pastry, then settle down on Jack's sofa for some leisurely snogging before the rest of the team comes in. When the team are all on the late side, they take the opportunity to start the day with quick shag in Jack's bunker, and Ianto thinks that maybe he'll manage the next three days just fine as he walks back into the Hub with a blissed out smile. He starts coffee for the others and contemplates the day.

Future Gwen texts him several times, most of which he ignores. Until one worries him too much to delete unanswered.

_Do you want me to clean your bedroom? Change the sheets, do the laundry, that sort of thing?_

He answers her politely.

_No thank you._

Then he thinks about who he's writing to and replies a second time.

_And stop snooping around my flat for information._

Because of course she just wants an excuse to go into his room and find Jack's drawer and see how much of Jack's stuff has really made it into Ianto's flat.

_You'd better be prepared to talk tonight, Jones._

The team has a fairly normal day, as far as alien hunting and Rift wrangling goes. They wrap up a late-afternoon retrieval with dinner at a local pub, after which everyone goes their separate ways. Ianto is unsure what to do about Jack, sensing that the other man would like to go back to Ianto's flat but doesn't want to ask after being brushed off the night before. Ianto would like nothing better than to spend a quiet night with Jack as opposed to getting the third degree from Gwen, and he's really not sure what to do when he receives another text. Convince Jack to stay at the Hub together or head home alone?

_We need wine. Can you pick up a bottle for later?_

He sends a text back, hoping for a certain response but doubting she'll read between the lines.

_Might be a late night here. Don't wait up._

Gwen replies almost immediately.

_If you don't come home, Ianto Jones, I might have to go out and have fun on my own. Timelines!_

Ianto stares at his mobile before deleting the message. Jack is eyeing him funny.

"Everything all right?" he asks. Ianto glances up and thinks fast, since he certainly can't tell him that Gwen is threatening to upend the timeline if Ianto doesn't go home and drink with her.

"Yeah, it's my sister. She's been texting me about coming by tonight."

Jack frowns. "Your sister in Newport? I thought you didn't see her much?"

Ianto shrugs as they walk back to the Hub. "Yeah, but I think something's going on with her husband, sounded like she needed to talk. Probably lost another job."

"We're done early two nights in a row and both nights I'm left on my own," Jack jokes. Ianto feels wretched, because he really wants to spend his rare free time with Jack. They could see a movie, play some pool, try the new jazz club Jack mentioned a few weeks ago. Instead Ianto gets to go back to his flat alone to face Gwen, while Jack gets to roam free across the rooftops. It's simply not fair.

"I could come by the Hub later if it's not too late," Ianto offers, but Jack shakes his head.

"It's fine. Visit with your family." He stops and pulls Ianto into a close embrace. "But I did like breakfast this morning. Maybe we can do that again tomorrow?"

Ianto kisses him, letting his hands roam a bit before answering. "I'd like that too. I'll see you in the morning, Jack."

They part ways, and Ianto heads home via his local Tesco, where he picks up both a red and a white for Gwen and six pack of Brains for himself. He contemplates something stronger, but there's still some gin and tonic, plus the scotch he and Jack like to share. And Gwen's god-awful mixer.

Entering the flat, Ianto glances around, hopelessly hoping that maybe Gwen has fallen asleep and he can sneak off to his own room without any awkward bonding, or even back to the Hub. Unfortunately, she steps out of the kitchen almost as soon as he shuts the door, which is when he notices that something smells amazing.

"Perfect timing!" she exclaims. She is wearing the old apron his mum had given him when he went to uni, and for a moment Ianto half expects her to hand him a smoking jacket and a martini. Instead, she smiles and motions him toward the kitchen. "I just took the last batch from the oven."

"Last batch?" he asks rather dumbly.

She squeals when she sees the wine. "Wine and Welsh cakes!" she replies. She tucks the white into the freezer to chill and sets the red down on the counter. Ianto grabs a bottle of Brains and opens it immediately, contemplates chugging it, then decides he should probably keep his wits about him while he can. He drinks half.

"Glasses?" she asks, and he points to a cabinet. It's a screw top, so she opens it quickly and pours two glasses, completely oblivious to the beer he's holding. He drinks the rest and takes the wine and lets her push him toward the kitchen table, where it's quickly apparent that she's spent the day baking ridiculous amounts of Welsh cakes as some sort of coping method. He didn't even realize he had the ingredients.

"I ducked out to the corner market," she says contritely. "I had some cash, so I didn't use my card, and I didn't talk to anyone. Well, except a few people on the street who don't even know me." She pauses. "And your neighbor might have seen me coming back."

Ianto groans as he covers his eyes with his hand. "Mrs. Norris is the worst sort of busybody. The whole building will know you're here now."

"I told her I was your sister," Gwen says. "Just visiting family for the week."

"Good," says Ianto. "She's bad enough about…other things." He stops himself from saying 'Jack', not wanting to bring it up if he doesn't have to. Mrs. Norris is funny about it, though: she's obviously smitten with Jack and has told Ianto they make a handsome pair several times, but then she shakes her head and tells Ianto to find a nice girl so he can get married and have children she can spoil before she dies. Never mind that he's fine without all that at the moment, or that his job won't allow it, or that he'd wouldn't stay in his small flat if ever did have kids. She's offered to set him up numerous times, adding her own advice on raising children right down to what sort of dog his imaginary family should adopt.

"So you've been baking all day then," says Ianto. Gwen nods as she plates some cakes for him. He tries one; it's rather misshapen, but has a good taste and texture that will go perfect with some jam. Which she places on the table as if reading his mind. He nods his approval. "Very good."

"Thanks." Gwen beams and helps herself to several cakes. "I cleaned the bathroom and got my space a little more organized too."

Ianto raises an eyebrow. "You've only got two more days until you catch up to yourself."

"I know, but I wanted to spruce it up a bit." He doesn't want to know what she's done to his spare room; he'll look when she's gone and likely scrub it down. "Then I settled in for some good old-fashioned Welsh baking and now you're here to enjoy it. "

"A nice way to end the day," he replies, taking a sip of wine. The light red tastes good with it, a dry compliment to the sweetness of the cakes. He offers another nod of approval. "Thank you."

"How are things at the Hub?" she asks, and he shrugs.

"You should know," he points out. She glances up in surprise as if just realizing it.

"I hadn't even thought about it. I already lived it, didn't I? Wednesday we had a pretty normal day, a late retrieval, and dinner at that new pub on the Quay."

Ianto silently touches his nose.

"How's Jack?" she asks, trying to sound innocent and failing.

"He's fine," Ianto replies. She studies him carefully.

"Last night you said he comes back here," she says. "Does he do that often? Did you have to put him off?"

Ianto takes another sip of wine and sighs. "Yes, he comes by several times a week. And yes, I begged off again."

"Again?" she asks.

"Last night too," he reminds her.

"Oh. What did you tell him?"

"Last night I told him I had to clean up after some work in the building. Tonight I told him I was going to see my sister."

Gwen frowns. "I'm sorry you have to lie to him," she says quietly. Ianto shakes his head and pours himself some more wine.

"I don't have to. But I also don't think telling him you're here is a good idea, nor do I want to try to sneak him in and keep you two from finding one another."

"Timelines," she says.

"Amongst other things," he replies.

"You could have stayed at the Hub."

"I know you're lonely," Ianto replies with a shrug. "Sometimes time travel isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"Not really," she murmurs. "But I could have managed by myself."

"You threatened to go out and wreak havoc on the space-time continuum," he points out, and she laughs.

"I wouldn't even know how," she says, which is probably true.

"Which is why I decided to keep an eye on you," Ianto replies. "Make sure you don't run off to have a threesome with your past self and your fiancé."

Gwen chokes on her drink and starts coughing. "Ianto! I'd never even consider it. Tell me you wouldn't."

He cocks his head, then shakes it. "Sorry, can't."

"You would?"

He grins. "Think about it."

She frowns, then it clicks. "Oh. Jack's that good, then?"

"Yep," he replies, idly remembering breakfast and wishing Jack was there for dessert.

"So," she starts, then stops, pours some more wine for herself, and tries again. "So how long has this been going on?"

"Formally or informally?" he asks dryly, although it's a rather complicated answer either way. Neither word really applies to them; it is what it is.

"I thought it wasn't like that, formal," she replies, pointing her fork at him. "Your words—sort of casually dating. When did you first go out on a date, then?"

"About two weeks after he got back from his trip with the Doctor."

Gwen sets down her fork and leans forward, reaching for him, but Ianto keeps eating and drinking so she can't grab his hand. "Ianto," she says. "He left us with no word at all. Weren't you angry at him?"

"I was," Ianto acknowledges. "Until I realized that he'd changed. That something important had happened to change him. That he'd had no choice about coming back when he did, and that he really had no choice about leaving when he did either."

"I don't understand," she says, leaning back. "He told us he needed to find the Doctor. He told me saw the end of the universe."

Ianto nods. "He did. And it was not a pleasant time or place to be. He was gone far longer than it was for us, and it was hard. It took him a while to deal with that."

"And you helped him," Gwen murmurs, and Ianto shrugs, not wanting to believe that he'd helped Jack recover, though he'd tried his best once he'd understood Jack's need. "Why didn't he have a choice about leaving? Or coming back? He could have said goodbye, or left us a note. He could have contacted us somehow."

"Gwen, it's not really my place to tell you everything, but I will tell you this much." He pauses, finishes his second glass of wine, and sits back. "Jack waited for over one hundred years to meet the Doctor again and find out what happened to him. To find out how he became immortal and if the Doctor could fix it. Yet after everything he went through, the only thing he learned was that there's nothing to be done. He's going to live forever."

"But how?" whispers Gwen. Once more Ianto puts her off.

"Again, not for me to share," he says. "But knowing what I know, how could I stay angry? Hurt, yes. But he forgave me for my betrayals, how could I not forgive him? We talked. We started slow. And now we are where we are."

Gwen grins and fills their glasses. "Which is where, exactly?"

"Gwennnnn," he says, half a warning in his voice.

"Come on Ianto," she whines. "I haven't seen Rhys for almost three days!"

"And what does talking about me and Jack have to do with that?" he asks.

"I want to know!" she replies a bit too vehemently. She takes a sip of her wine and pokes at a Welsh cake. "You know me. I'm curious."

"And you know me," Ianto points out. "I'm private."

"Why?" she asks. "Why keep it secret?"

He leans back and crosses his legs at the ankle, swirls his glass a few times before taking another sip and setting it down. He's had too much too quickly and should probably slow down if he wants to keep his edge.

"Why did you and Owen keep it secret?" he asks. She cringes, an embarrassed look flashing across her face before she replies.

"That was different," she replies.

"How?" he asks, wondering if she can even answer. "Two coworkers on a small team sleeping together, keeping it secret from the others? How is it different?"

"We were…well…we weren't…" She stumbles, unsure what to say.

"Weren't what?" he prods.

"We were just messing around," she says, sounding defensive. "We weren't serious!"

"Neither are we," Ianto replies automatically, though he hates saying it. They spend so much time together, both in bed and out, that he wants to think it's more than messing around, but he also knows that if he does, he might lose whatever it is they do have together. Plausible denial works professionally, so he figures it should work personally as well. He finishes his wine and starts on another cake.

"Ianto," Gwen says, sounding inexplicably sad. "You're dating. He spends the night several times a week. How can that not be serious?"

"It's not like we're engaged or anything," he points out through a mouth full of food. It's not a particularly strong argument, so he continues before Gwen can point it out. "Besides, Jack doesn't do serious, does he? He is…who he is." Ianto shrugs, and feeling abruptly depressed with the direction of the conversation, refills his glass and finishes the bottle on Gwen.

"Why?" she asks. She leans an elbow on the table, plants her chin on her hand, and slips off before trying again.

"Why what?" Ianto asks. "Why is he the way he is, why doesn't he do serious, or why aren't we engaged?"

She giggles. "Not the last, and I'm not sure there's an answer to the first. Why doesn't Jack do serious? And how do you know for sure?"

"He's Jack, for one," Ianto replies. He feels both loose and agitated, aware that his hands are waving around far more than usual and that he is starting to say things he wouldn't normally share. "The original 51st century playboy, tragically stranded on a backwater planet three thousand years in his past."

"That doesn't mean he can't settle down," she argues. Ianto imagines she's trying to convince herself, because, well. She'd always wanted to settled down with Jack, hadn't she? Ianto pushes the thought from his mind as petty (but true) and nods.

"He can," he tells her. "He has settled down, but it was years ago. Gwen, he's immortal. After decades and decades of losing people, wouldn't you be skittish about long term relationships?"

"Oh," she says, blinking owlishly at him. "I never thought of it that way."

"You usually don't," Ianto murmurs before he can stop himself. He cringes from his own words and tries to hide it behind his glass, draining it in one large gulp.

Gwen is unusually silent, and he's had enough to drink to feel bad about hurting her feelings, so Ianto shakes his head as he stands to get a glass of water.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I didn't mean…"

"No, you're right," she replies, leaning back with a crooked smile. "I don't usually think about things like that, not the way you do."

He leans again the counter, sipping the cold water. "We're different people, with different strengths and weaknesses," he rambles ineloquently. "Therefore, we see things differently." In his mind, Ianto translates his words as 'right' and 'wrong,' but he keeps that to himself.

"I see the bright lights," she says. "You see the shadows."

He stares at her, because not only is that  _exactly_  what he had been thinking the other day, but he's surprised to find she's capable of such insight.

"Why is that?" she asks, sounding tipsy and confused. She sighs, finishes her wine, and twirls the empty glass. Ianto pulls the semi-cold white from the freezer and pours them both a generous portion. He grabs some salty crisps to go with it as well; it's a rubbish combination, but he doesn't have any fruit and cheese and can't eat any more Welsh cakes.

"I'm guessing you see what you want to see," he answers slowly. "You want to see a dashing hero, so you see the bright lights."

"So why do you see the shadows?" she asks. Ianto has to think about it. Were drunken conversations with coworkers supposed to get this deep and complex?

"I don't like bright lights," he finally replies. "Torchwood One was bright lights and loud music and brash arrogance, and look what happened. It burned itself up, and I suppose after living through that, all I can see now are the shadows. Sometimes I prefer them."

"Seems like a sad way of seeing things," she offers. She takes a handful of crisps and Ianto watches her, wondering how much to say, how much to hold back. He takes another sip of wine, definitely feeling the buzz loosening his tongue.

"It's reality, Gwen," he replies. "People aren't all bright lights. Everyone has a bit of darkness in them."

"Even Jack."

Ianto laughs, or rather, scoffs, if he wants to be linguistically correct. She glares at him, but it is half-hearted, either from wine or because she knows exactly what he is scoffing about. "Especially Jack. Come on, Gwen, you've seen enough to know he's not the perfect hair day he tries to be."

She giggles, but quickly suppresses it. "Jack's just different," she says defensively. "It doesn't make him a dark person. He  _is_  a hero, you know."

"He can  _be_  a hero," Ianto points out. "So can you, or Tosh, or Owen. That doesn't mean he's always a hero. You've pointed that out to him several times, after all."

"But…" she starts, only Ianto cuts her off now that he's started.

"He has to make hard decisions, Gwen, and he makes mistakes. We all do. And he regrets them, like we do as well. The difference is that he has  _forever_ to regret them. Forever to lose people, forever to mourn and doubt and wonder and—" He stands, suddenly upset and overwhelmed by putting Jack's predicament—Jack's  _life—_ into perspective for Gwen. He dumps his wine in the sink and grabs another bottle of Brains instead, leaning against the sink and trying to bring his emotions back under control.

"I'm sorry," Gwen whispers from the table. He does not look at her, but nods, only looking up when he hears a half-sob from her.

"Nothing to apologize for," he murmurs. She shakes her head.

"No, you're right," she says. "About everything. I…I like the bright lights. I want to see the good in people, in everything…but that's not always possible with this job, is it? Or with Jack."

Ianto sighs. "No, it's not."

"I think…" She hesitates and does not meet his eyes as she toys with a spot on the table. "I think that's what changed…what I finally realized…about things."

"About Jack." Because it always comes back to Jack.

Gwen makes a noncommittal sound. It might be the most awkward conversation he has ever had with another person in his kitchen, and Ianto wants to throw himself down the drain at that moment, as he waits for Gwen to confess her love for Jack and her magnanimous reasons for finally moving on. If she really has.

"More about Rhys," she offers. "He has been so understanding, so amazing… especially when Jack left." Ianto nods and she continues. "When Jack came back, I couldn't help but wonder…look at him again as the hero…only…"

Ianto walks slowly over to the table and pops some more crisps into his mouth as he sits down again. "Only you finally accepted he's not always the hero you want him to be."

"I've tried so long to give him the benefit of doubt," she says softly. "Tried to reason away so many of the terrible things he's done. But since he came back…I can't. I think of Beth, and Tommy, and so many others, and then I see Rhys get shot again and again in my mind and…"

She takes a deep breath to settle herself. "Rhys was amazing in that warehouse. It made me see him in a different light. He was willing to do anything for me, yet I've taken that for granted since I started this damn job."

Ianto nods in agreement; he doesn't know Rhys well, but from the way Gwen talks at work, she's definitely taken his love and support for granted. Not that it reminds him of anyone. Gwen sighs sadly at his agreement and continues.

"But that whole situation also made me see Jack differently. He was willing to sacrifice Rhys, someone I love, and…well," she says with a nervous laugh. "I will always challenge those decisions, Ianto. It's who I am."

"And it's who Jack is, to make those decisions, for the good of the team—or the world," Ianto says quietly.

"Rhys, though," she says, and her face lights up. "Rhys doesn't have to make those decisions, those sacrifices. I realized he's my hero becausehe's my normal. He's who I do this for. And he supports me unconditionally, no matter what I have to do, no matter how I mess up."

"A challenge in and of itself," he murmurs, and she smiles before cocking her head.

"How do you do it?" she asks, startling him with the unexpected question.

"Do what?"

"Unconditional support."

"I…" Ianto stutters to a stop, trying to gather his thoughts in a way that makes sense. He fails. "I don't."

"Ianto," she says, pouring herself yet more wine. "You support Jack more than any of us, you know you do. Unconditionally. Like Rhys does for me."

"No, you've got it wrong," Ianto replies, shaking his head, then stopping when it blurs his vision too much. "I don't support Jack unconditionally."

"So there are conditions?" she asks, sounding confused.

"As a matter of fact, yes, there are," says Ianto. There is silence, aside from crisps crunching.

"And?" she asks. "What are they?"

"They're mine," Ianto replies. "And there is only one: I will support Jack to the best of my ability and beyond if and only if I believe he is doing what is necessary and right."

She frowns. "So you would disagree with him? Challenge him?"

He smirks to himself, thinking that if only Gwen knew how he challenged Jack. But Gwen was thinking professionally, not personally, and certainly not sexually, so he nodded and tried to explain without grinning to himself and thinking about their last challenge with the stopwatch.

"I would, and I have. There are two things that make us different, though. One is that I won't call him out in public. He's our leader, Gwen. He deserves and commands our respect, and if I have an issue with his decisions, I will take it up in private in all but the most extreme situations. I have, in fact."

"Whereas I like to blurt it out in front of everyone," Gwen replies with a bitter hint to her voice. "And work us both into a strop."

"Again—bright lights and shadows," Ianto says. "If you want Jack to see your point of view as a valid one worth considering, I suggest you stop challenging him in front of his team. You're not in charge, and you put us all in danger when you counteract direct orders."

"Ouch," she murmurs. This time he doesn't feel so bad, because they all know it's true. Gwen barely follows orders she agrees with, let alone the ones she doesn't. The problem is that she is not cut out to be a leader, because deep down she could never make the hard decisions that Jack makes. She is, however, the perfect liaison, which is why she's an important part of the team. Sometimes.

"What's the other thing?" she asks.

"Hm?" he asks, having completely lost his train of thought.

"Well," she says. "You said something about there being two differences between us."

"Right." He takes a sip of his beer, finishes it, sets it down, and swallows a bit of gas. "The other is that Jack and I are, for better or for worse as they say, quite similar in what we see as the necessary and right thing to do in most situations. While you and Jack usually see things from opposite sides of the table."

She stares at him, trying to process his words. "You use a lot of metaphors, you know."

"Helps me understand better," he shrugs.

"I hate how right you are," she mutters. He pats her hand in that annoying way she has of doing the same.

"I know everything," he replies.

She grumbles and throws off his hand while he laughs, genuinely laughs, however inappropriate the timing. After a long frown, she gives in and joins him.

"Sometimes I think you do," she says, gasping for breath as she laughs with him. "That you really do know everything."

He nods his head in gracious acceptance, until she grabs his hand and holds tight.

"Do you know where it's going?"

"Where what is going?" he asks, completely clueless.

"Your sort of casual dating with Jack?"

He stares at her, unable to articulate a response because no, that is one thing he definitely doesn't know, hasn't known since the start. When he tries to answer it for himself, he only sees casual shags at work, some serious nights at his flat, but never anything resembling a real relationship. No introducing Jack to his family, no looking at houses together, no pledges or promises, certainly no family or happily ever after. Not in Torchwood.

He sighs sadly as he pulls away from her, leaning back in his chair and shrugging.

"It is what it is," he says softly. It many ways, it's his mantra, his shield against the thought of it ever being more. "Right now I think we both enjoy what we have and try not to think about everything we don't."

"Oh Ianto," she says, and he wonders if she's going to start crying for him. If she does, he might end up joining her.

"It's not like that," he says, shaking his head. "It's not some tragic romance, Gwen. Mostly, it's Torchwood. Torchwood is both of our lives, and Torchwood doesn't leave much room for anything else."

"Make room," she says, and he snorts loudly, then covers his mouth in embarrassment.

"Sorry," she says. "But don't you ever think about it? About a life outside of Torchwood? With a house and a partner and a family?"

"Like yours?" he asks, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.

"Yes," she replies, apparently ignoring his tone. "Like mine. Like most people who don't know a thing about Weevils and Rifts and all the crap we see every day."

"I'm not most people," he replies defensively. "And does it ever occur to you, Gwen, that not everyone is like you? That not everyone wants what you want?"

"Why not?" she asks. "They're basic human needs: friendship, family, love. Why wouldn't anyone want that?"

Ianto stares at her, wondering if she really thinks such things or if the wine is making her more naïve than usual. Mostly likely it's both: the wine has allowed her to voice the niggling thoughts she usually keeps inside, with the exception of her delightful confrontation with Jack about Retconning Rhys. Ianto realizes that yes, she really does believe that everyone thinks and feels and loves and wants the same as her. He wonders why Jack hired her to be the heart of Torchwood; yes, her heart is big and compassionate, but oh so blind and arrogant sometimes.

"Gwen." He stands, goes to the sink and fills another glass with water, then chugs it in one go before refilling it. "Gwen," he starts again. "Do you realize how condescending you sound when you ask a question like that? How ignorant? How cruel?"

She blinks, stares, and blinks again. He continues.

"We are not all like you. In fact, it's more accurate to say  _you_  are not like  _us_. We've all suffered because of this job. Tosh and Owen, Jack most of all. And don't get me started about Canary Wharf and…and Lisa." His voice cracks, but he continues as she stares at him, her eyes bright. "Because I could tell you things that would have you sick and sobbing within minutes. You, on the other hand, have lost nothing. You've had a few injuries, seen some death and destruction, but even when Bilis Manger killed Rhys, you got him back."

He sets his second glass of water down and stands up straight. He wants to rant and rave about the unfairness of it all, but he will settle for simply making her understand. "We are not like you. I am not like you. Once I wanted all that, but…well, life changes. Now I want something different."

"What do you want?" she asks, and he hears the tears in her voice.

"I want to protect people from what's out there, because I know what cruelty and heartbreak the universe is capable of. I want meet a few nice aliens someday instead of the ones who always want to kill us." They both smile before he continues. "I want to learn about what's out there, what's possible, what else we can do to help. I want someone else to learn how to make decent coffee so I don't have to do it six times a day. I want a free night without any Weevil sightings, maybe even a weekend holiday without a Rift alert." He leaves out Jack's name, though he's thinking it. Thinking about Jack makes him suddenly teary, and he feels his eyes welling up. Gwen's tears fall, but Ianto wipes his away.

"A normal job, a house and a garden and a family, parent nights and football practice and choir concerts…that's not for me anymore. I wouldn't know what to do with that."

"I can't have both, can I?" she asks quietly, and now he goes over to her. He holds out his hand and she stands and falls into his arms. He rubs her back and lies.

"If anyone can, you can," he tells her, and a part of him does believe it, even though the rest of him knows how hard it will be.

"What else do you want?" she asks. He knows what she wants to hear, and he's too far gone with wine and emotion to deny her.

"I want Jack," he whispers, but he does not cry.

"I want Rhys," she sobs back, and he rolls his eyes to himself.

"You've got him," he says. "Maybe not right now, but the wedding is in what? A month?"

"Thirty-two days," she whispers, and he laughs, prompting her to laugh as well.

"Thirty-five for you," he points out. She frowns. "Time travel."

"Time travel." She sighs and leans against his chest. "Stupid time travel."

It occurs to Ianto that without time travel he would have never met Jack, so maybe time travel isn't such a bad thing. And having Gwen living in his flat for five days is not as bad as he thought it would be either, even if he has embarrassed himself with confessions he'd never thought to make in the dark with Jack's cock in his arse, let alone in his kitchen to Gwen Cooper.

Letting Gwen go, Ianto gets out his biggest glass and fills it with water for Gwen. "Come on, drink this and off to bed. One of us still has to save the world tomorrow."

He starts to clean up the crisps and cakes and empty glasses while she drinks her water, clearly unsteady on her feet. She finishes about half before she speaks again.

"I'm sorry," she says softly, and he turns toward her with a sigh.

"It's fine," he says. He's not sure what she's apologizing for since it could be any number of things, and he's not sure if it's really fine, either. It could be awkward between them now, though he hopes not, for everyone's sake.

"I'm sorry about Torchwood, and Lisa, and all this," she continues. "I'm sorry that I push so hard because I always seem to end up hurting people instead of helping them. And I'm sorry…I'm sorry about Jack."

"Nothing to be sorry for," he says, not sure what she means with that last.

"You deserve better," she replies, placing a hand on his cheek. "You may not think so and you may not want it right now, but you deserve a normal life. With love and commitment and happiness. "

"We all do," he points out. "But we chose this job, yourself included."

"And I'd chose it again," she says with a bitter laugh.

"So would I." Ianto has always known he'd chose the same life if given the chance.

"Jack is a lucky man, you know," Gwen says. "You're good for him, maybe too good."

He could argue that he is just as messed up as Jack, but instead he smiles. "I'd like to think so." But he doesn't, not really.

"I know so," she says, and kisses him softly. "Thank you for everything, Ianto. For letting me stay here and making sure I don't destroy all of time and space. But mostly for talking, for helping me understand all the things I always fail to see around me. You are an amazing man, Ianto Jones."

Ianto is completely embarrassed and thus has no idea what to say. He replies with a warm hug before turning Gwen around and ushering her out of the kitchen. "To your chambers, milady. Before it really gets uncomfortable."

"Oh, there's more?" she asks, and they both laugh. "Good! Something for tomorrow."

Ianto pulls a face. "After all that, I'm not sure I'm coming back tomorrow. I'd rather sleep in Mfanwy's nest than go through another third degree with you!"

"Once a copper, always a copper," she laughs.

They stop at her door, and he kisses her on the forehead. "You're welcome. And thank you, for the Welsh cakes and the wine and even the conversation. It might be dreadfully awkward catching up to you on Friday, but I think we'll manage."

She smiles brightly. "I think we will more than manage," she says. "It'll be brilliant. Good night, Ianto."

Nodding good night, he continues toward his own room to get ready for bed. He grabs some paracetamol before brushing his teeth, all the while replaying the conversation with Gwen in his mind, though his head is a bit fuzzy and the conversation keeps flitting in and out, like a radio with bad reception. Did he really say some of those things? Did she?

Flopping onto his bed, Ianto gazes longingly at the empty side where Jack would probably be sleeping if Gwen wasn't in the next room. He misses Jack more than he probably should, but then, look at what he'd just confessed to Gwen.  _I want Jack._  What did that even mean? And how could he have something he'd always known he couldn't have?

Ianto falls asleep and dreams of blue eyes and football practices the entire night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry couldn't post Wednesday on Wednesday, but the site was down! There was so much I wanted to say in this chapter about Jack and Ianto and Gwen, yet I wanted it to be balanced—I can certainly write a mean Ianto, but this isn't the place for it. I'd like to think he got his point across, though. And that Gwen finally understood. Let me know what you think! And now that they've talked, what do you think will happen next? Thank you so much for reading!


	4. Thursday

Thursday

Ianto wakes to the blaring sound of his alarm clock feeling foggy headed and dehydrated. Yet as much as he wants to roll over and go back to sleep for as long as he possibly can, he also remembers Jack's invitation to breakfast and finds himself grinning stupidly at the thought of seeing Jack before the others come in.

So he gets up, showers, and starts some coffee for Gwen, trying decide between stopping for donuts or bagels on the way to work whilst wondering if they'll have time to sneak down to Jack's room again. He is about to leave when Gwen stumbles out of the guest room looking incredibly rumpled.

"Why are you leaving so early?" she asks, eyes half closed against the light. He can't help but smile; people with hangovers are always so sad and adorable, even Gwen. He gently guides her back toward her bed.

"I always go in early," he says. "And since you can't, you might as well go back to bed."

"I plan on it," she replies. "But Ianto, why? You deserve a lie-in one in a while, you know. Especially after all that wine."

"I suppose," he says, thinking about how he could be having a lie-in with Jack. Something must show on his face.

"You're going to see Jack, aren't you?" she asks as she crawls back into his inflatable guest bed.

"Breakfast date." He can't resist sharing because he's looking forward to it. "He asked last night before I left."

"Lucky dog," she laughs, pulling the blanket up around her. "I miss Rhys."

He affectionately brushes the hair from her face as she snuggles in. He'd never have thought he'd use the word affection when it came to Gwen Cooper, but there it is. She still drives him mad, but apparently now it's in an endearing sort of way.

"I know you do," he replies. "One more day, Gwen. Then he'll be wondering what hit him when you see him tomorrow."

"You bet he will," she murmurs, already half asleep. "I'm not leaving him or our bed all weekend."

"You do that," he says. "Someone will cover for you."

He stands to leave, but she grabs his hand. "Ianto. Thanks again for last night."

"For drinking too much wine and pointing out the dark side of life?" he returns lightly. She shakes her head.

"For that, yes, but for trusting me. I won't let you down."

He pauses, surprised at her words. "I didn't think you would," he finally replies, and he means it.

She smiles and drifts off, and he leaves for work, grabbing some Welsh cakes from the kitchen so he doesn't have to stop on the way in. He is looking forward to seeing Jack, but also wondering if he'll be able to return home that night to see Gwen before she catches up with herself. He's surprised to find that a part of him wants to.

* * *

Jack seems glad to see him, and they enjoy both the pastries Jack had picked up for them as well as the Welsh cakes Ianto brought with him. He tells Jack his sister made them, which doesn't seem too far from the truth, since Gwen had told his neighbor she was Ianto's sister. She might as well be; he'd opened up more to Gwen the previous two nights than he had with his own sister over the last two years.

Jack asks if everything is all right, and Ianto tells him things are fine without going into detail because he doesn't want to lie any more than he has to. He wonders if Jack believes him and decides to show Jack how much he's missed him the last few nights. They are downstairs in Jack's bunk lazily recovering when they hear someone come in—probably Tosh—but Ianto doesn't really care. His head is clearer and his heart is happy.

It's Owen, who naturally gives Ianto a hard time when he and Jack come out to make more coffee. Owen offers a snarky remark, Ianto offers a snappy retort, and Jack grins as he watches their familiar show. Tosh comes in then, followed by Gwen, and another day at Torchwood begins.

Ianto spends the morning in the Archives, his thoughts still a jumble after his intimate conversation with Gwen the night before. When present Gwen calls down to remind him about lunch, he's surprised to find that he's worked straight through the morning. He's also discomfited to realize he's not as comfortable with this Gwen as he is with the Gwen hiding at his flat. He hopes he's not being rude, but he's fairly she wouldn't notice anyway. Not at this point in time.

During lunch, which Tosh had gone ahead and ordered, Ianto receives several messages from future Gwen. He frowns as he reads the first.

_Mrs. Norris came to see you._

"Everything all right?" Jack asks, and Ianto glances up in surprise.

"Of course," he says. That's assuming that future Gwen hadn't…

_I recognized her and opened the door before thinking._

Nope. She had. Ianto sighed.

"You sure?" Jack asks again, lowering his voice and looking at Ianto with concern.

"Yes," Ianto replies. "It's my sister again, she's…"

_She's invited me for tea this afternoon. What do I do?_

"Shit."

"So not all right then?" asks Owen dryly, and Ianto looks up to find everyone at the table watching him. He thinks quickly.

"Not sure. I should probably check on her…" He trails off as he turns to Jack, who nods once. Ianto stands, leaving his lunch behind as his mind screams  _Timelines!_ at him over and over. Not to mention complicated romantic triangles worthy of  _East Enders._

He hurries through the Hub and upstairs, dialing as he walks.

"What's going on?" he hisses into the phone when Gwen picks up. "You can't have tea with my neighbor!"

"I know!" Gwen wails. "She's a sweetheart, but she is also one stubborn bitch. I couldn't say no!"

"Don't go," he orders as he strides toward his car.

"She'll come looking for me."

"I'll be there, I'll explain."

"Explain what?" she demands. "That I'm your time traveling co-worker hiding out from the end of the universe?"

He snorts inelegantly. "Of course not. I'll simply explain that you fell ill and I came back to check on you."

"She's too smart for that," Gwen replies.

"It'll have to do!" he snaps. "You're in a different time, and we have no way of knowing how you interacting with anyone other than me might affect it. Plus I still have to live in the same building with her after you catch up with yourself."

"So you're more worried about your reputation than the end of the universe?" Gwen replies, a slightly hysterical edge to her voice.

"My reputation is already crap," Ianto replies.

There is a significant pause. "Too much noise."

"Yep."

"Would that be you and Jack?" she asks, apparently calmed by the thought of getting more information out of Ianto.

"Not the time, Gwen," Ianto replies. "Go crawl into bed and pretend like you're sick in case she batters down the door with her cane."

"But—"

"Just do it, Gwen. I'll be home in ten."

"Yes, dear."

Ianto hangs up with a sigh. It was inevitable that something would go wrong. He's just thankful it's not worse.

* * *

When Mrs. Norris knocks on the door looking for Ianto's "adorable sister," she meets Ianto instead and goes on and on about Gwen. Ianto politely informs her that Gwen took ill quite suddenly and called him to help. When Mrs. Norris offers soup and a half dozen other home remedies, Ianto less politely turns her down. And when she tries to schedule another time for tea, he informs her that Gwen is actually dying and won't be around long enough to reschedule.

He shuts the door on her crocodile tears and lets his head fall against the wood.

Gwen comes out from the guestroom, eyes wide. "You told her I'm dying?"

He turns around, sees the look on her face, and collapses on the couch, clutching his stomach as he laughs hysterically. Gwen eventually joins him, and they laugh so loud he hushes them so Mrs. Norris doesn't hear them and come back, thinking they've lost it.

Eventually he catches his breath and stands up. It's mid-afternoon and he needs to get back to work. He thinks about what he'll tell Jack and wishes he could tell the truth because Jack would love the story about Mrs. Norris. Yet like Gwen, he has to wait one more day before he can explain everything—the texts, the lonely nights, rushing home in the middle of the day. Hopefully Jack won't be too angry with him.

Ianto digs around his closet and finds his DVD box set of Sean Connery's James Bond films. "Here," he says, handing it to Gwen and pushing her toward the sofa. "Watch this. All of it. Don't go anywhere or do anything, don't call anyone or answer the phone or open the door. Just sit and watch and when I get back, there will be a quiz."

"Really?" she asks, eyeing the DVDs a bit skeptically.

"There will be if you attempt to cause another paradox," he replies, and for some reason they both giggle.

"So you're coming back tonight?" she asks. "I know you miss Jack."

Ianto rolls his eyes. "I saw him this morning, I'll see him this afternoon."

"It's not the same," she says, and he nods.

"It's not, it's work and work is different, but this is what I need to do right now. I'm saving the universe in a different way, I suppose."

"The universe is a cruel place then, tearing you away from sex with Jack," she teases, and he winks.

"That's what breakfast dates are for," he replies. "And mid-afternoon dates, perhaps." He turns to leave before she can say anything.

"Thanks again, Ianto!" she calls as he heads out. He waves his hand over his shoulder and thinks about how he's going to make it back that night. He wants to be there for Gwen, especially knowing her propensity to muddle things up, but he also wants to spend the night with Jack. He decides he'll tell Jack that he needs to check on his sister before staying at the Hub for the night. If his sister is staying at Ianto's flat, Jack will understand the need for them to sleep at the Hub.

Hopefully he won't want to meet her.

* * *

Ianto recognizes that he has the unfortunate ability to talk himself into believing something even when he knows, deep down where logic tries to keep a firm lid on his emotions, that it's not really true. He'd done it with Lisa, and he's done it with Jack a dozen times already. So he convinces himself that Jack will understand why Ianto needs to go home again to check on his sister, and that Jack's natural curiosity won't go any further than badgering him with questions, which Ianto can deflect easily enough with a blowjob and a flick of his fingers.

He really didn't expect Jack to show up at his flat, even though he should have. Of course Jack is standing outside the door; Ianto reluctantly opens it before it's pounded in, prepared to send Jack back to the Hub with a quick kiss and a promise to join him. Only Gwen steps out from the kitchen at the exact moment Ianto is about to start his monologue, wearing her pyjamas with takeaway and wine glass in hand, and Jack's face darkens like a storm. Gwen gasps and sprints toward her bedroom, spilling wine everywhere. Ianto swears and pushes Jack into the hallway, and Jack growls in that way he has when he is too upset to curse in his native tongue.

"Jack, I can explain—" Ianto starts, but Jack cuts him off with a short swipe of his hand.

"Your sister, huh? Do you even have a sister?" he asks, then looks slightly startled as he realizes the ridiculousness of his statement. Ianto rolls his eyes.

"You know I do," he says. "You've read my file."

"But that's not your sister," Jack points out. "That's Gwen. Have you been sneaking out to see…" He looks wounded and upset. "Gwen?"

"Yes…no," Ianto stumbles, unusually unable to articulate his thoughts. "Yes, Gwen is inside, and yes, I've been checking on her, but it's not what you think."

"What do you think I think?" asks Jack.

"Probably something kinky and inappropriate," replies Ianto. "And I can assure you, there is nothing kinky about it."

"Gwen is in your flat," Jack says, his face showing both confusion and hurt. "You've made excuses to go home the last three nights without me and when I come to visit—to meet your sister, whom you said was struggling and needed your help—I find one of our coworkers sipping wine in her pyjamas instead. What am I supposed to think?"

"That it's me and it's Gwen and it's not even remotely possible?" suggests Ianto. There is a muffled "Hey!" from the other side of the door that almost breaks the tension between them. Jack frowns at the door, which makes Ianto grin, which prompts Jack to offer a tentative smile that inspires Ianto to start laughing until Jack finally joins him. Gwen huffs again from inside his flat.

"Look," says Ianto, taking Jack's hand and pulling him close. "Let me go back in and calm the beast, then I'll explain as best as I can. But I can't explain everything because…well…you'd call it timey-whimey-ness, I suppose."

"Oh," says Jack, eyes wide again as he glances at the flat. "That's not Gwen."

"No, it's Gwen, it's just not our right-now Gwen. It's a different Gwen. See my problem?"

"Future Gwen? Past Gwen?" asks Jack, and now he looks interested. "Alternate universe Gwen?" He starts toward the door, but Ianto stops him.

"I'll explain back at the Hub, since we're trying very hard to avoid any paradoxes here. I was going to come back after dinner, but let me tell her I'm leaving early, okay?"

Jack nods, narrowing his eyes but trying to hide a smirk. "This better be good, you know. You've not only been ditching me for Gwen, but you didn't tell me something timey-whimey and interesting was going on."

"Actually," starts Ianto, and kisses him thoroughly, stepping back when Jack tries to pull him closer, "it's a pretty good story. Give me a minute."

He hurries back inside and not only shuts the door in Jack's face, but locks it as well. Gwen pokes her head out of the kitchen.

"Is he gone?" she asks in a stage whisper. Ianto shakes his head.

"He's waiting for me. I'm going back to the Hub for the night."

Gwen looks disappointed. "But we had so much fun last night," she pouts. Ianto walks to the kitchen and pulls her into a quick hug.

"We did," he agrees. "But Jack saw you and I think he's got the wrong idea, so I need to explain what's going on."

"I heard you," she says with a laugh. "Not even remotely possible, huh?"

"You wouldn't agree?" he asks.

"Oh, I don't know," she says, grinning. "I've seen a different side of you these last few days."

"And what side is that?" he asks. She leans up to kiss him on the cheek.

"The side that Jack finds irresistible," she murmurs. "So go tell Jack why I'm really shacking up here, but don't destroy the universe doing it, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," he replies with a laugh. "Just enough for him to understand what's going on. He can get the rest of the story tomorrow with the others when it's all over."

"He sounded almost jealous out there," says Gwen. Ianto shrugs.

"It's not like that. Jack doesn't do jealousy." He pauses. "And if he did, he was probably more jealous of me than you."

Gwen shakes her head sadly. "Oh Ianto. I don't think it's like that either."

"It is what it is," Ianto replies. The conversation had suddenly gone from lighthearted to bittersweet, and Ianto did not want to deal with the latter. "Look, I'll check in with you tomorrow, okay?"

"When?" asks Gwen. Ianto pauses at the door.

"You'd know better," he points out. "What time did you disappear?"

Gwen frowns. "I don't remember…the call was after lunch, so late afternoon, I suppose."

"Then I'll call in the morning."

"Call when we leave for the retrieval, too," she says. "That way I can make my way back to the Hub." Another quick hug, and he leaves her alone once more. He tries not to let the sad look on her face get to him too much, telling himself it will all be over the next day and Gwen will be free of her forced isolation. He's had a hard time keeping it secret, lying to Jack, and managing his time-traveling houseguest, but he knows that Gwen, who thrives on being with people, has had it far worse, trapped in his flat by herself for several days.

Jack is leaning against the wall waiting for him. He raises a curious eyebrow as he stands, and Ianto gestures toward the stairs at the end of the corridor. They head silently toward the car, where Jack opens the passenger door with an exaggerated sense of gallantry. He hurries around to the driver's side, jumps in, and starts the car. Before he drives off, however, he turns to Ianto and smiles the shark smile—the one that's all big teeth and intense eyes and a tilt of the head that clearly declares he will get what he wants.

"So, what exactly is our time-traveling coworker doing in your flat and how did she get there?"

Ianto sighs as he buckles in and starts his story.

* * *

Jack is not as angry as Ianto thought he might be; he'd suspected Jack would get a kick out of the story, and he does. Jack had been a Time Agent and a time-traveling conman; how could he not be interested? He asks a lot of questions, some of which are even thoughtful and appropriate, though he teases Ianto at every opportunity.

"I still don't understand why you didn't tell me," he says as Ianto finishes his initial explanations. They pull into the car park by the Hub; Ianto waits to answer until they are out of the car and walking inside.

"I already told you. I was concerned about future Gwen—or even the knowledge of future Gwen—interfering in her own timeline."

Jack gives him a blank look, as if he doesn't understand. And he was a Time Agent? Ianto sighs.

"I didn't want future Gwen interacting with someone from her past in such a way that it would change it. I'm not an expert on time travel, but I do know that could create a paradox, if she were accidentally to change something that already happened to her. And you've always emphasized how dangerous paradoxes can be."

"I lived one for a year," Jack murmurs.

"Exactly," Ianto replies. He doesn't know everything about Jack's time away, but he knows enough and moves on. "Torchwood One had a policy for it as well."

"A paradox policy?" Jack asks in surprise, and Ianto nods as the cog door opens for them.

"Yep. We knew the Doctor was a time-traveler, had to be prepared, right?"

Jack nods thoughtfully. "I suppose. So I could see why you wouldn't tell our now Gwen, and even Tosh and Owen, but why not tell me?"

"Because you're my boss or because I'm sleeping with you?" Ianto asks somewhat sarcastically. Jack is silent for a long moment, as if trying to decide how to reply.

"Both," he says. "As your boss, so I'm aware of the situation, and as your…lover, so I understand why you keep leaving." There is a surprising depth of feeling in the latter part of that sentence. Ianto stares at Jack, who meets his gaze directly, allowing Ianto to see that yes, Jack cares enough about him to be hurt by his actions. It is slightly stunning, and Ianto has to look away.

"I'm sorry," he finally replies, his voice cracking. "I wasn't trying to keep secrets from you. I was only doing what I thought was best." He glances up and offers a crooked smile. "And it wasn't easy."

"What, hiding a gorgeous woman in your flat and sneaking off to see her every night?" Jack teases. Ianto refuses to think about Lisa and only of his current houseguest.

"No, hiding Gwen Cooper, bleeding heart extrovert, in my flat all by herself and lying to my boss so I could check on her and make sure she's not flittering around Cardiff wreaking havoc on the timestream," Ianto replies.

"Hm, good point," Jack laughs. "I can see her going a bit stir crazy."

"You have no idea," Ianto tells him. "She cleaned the entire flat, which was nice, I admit. She made six dozen Welsh cakes, also nice. And she somehow got herself invited to tea with my neighbor."

"The one who complains about the noise?" asks Jack, and Ianto nods. Jack pouts in return.

"She's never asked me to tea!"

"You know she loves you," Ianto replies. He moves toward the coffee station automatically, thinking to make them a cup. "She just doesn't love your sex noises."

Jack pulls him away from the machine and nuzzles his neck. "Do you?" he murmurs.

"I don't mind," Ianto replies, and Jack steps back with a grin.

"Nightcap? I want to hear all about Gwen driving you mad in your flat, and I think you'll probably need a scotch more than an Americano."

"Lead the way," says Ianto, chuckling to himself. "But just one. I had quite enough last night."

"Last night? You mean with your sister?" asks Jack, then waves a finger at Ianto. "Except you weren't with your sister, you were with Gwen, weren't you?"

"Welsh cakes and wine," Ianto replies with a shrug. "Both go fast."

They step into Jack's office, where Ianto slips off his suit coat and lays it on the back of a chair before collapsing on the sofa. Jack pours them both a double measure of MacCallan's before joining him.

"I can't picture you sitting around drinking with Gwen," he says, opening the conversation once more.

"It wasn't a pretty sight," Ianto tells him. "I think I destroyed another piece of the shiny happy bubble she still lives in."

Jack grins as he takes a sip of his drink, then sets it down to turn toward Ianto, one arm on the back of the sofa, one leg up and tucked under him. "Oh, do tell."

"A gentlemen doesn't drink and tell," Ianto replies slyly. He gets the exact rise out of Jack he was hoping for.

"That's kiss and tell, and I certainly hope there wasn't any of that!" he exclaims. Ianto waggles his eyebrows in a very Jack-like manner, but Jack's face contorts in such a way that Ianto really doesn't want to play him like that. He pats Jack on the leg, then leaves his hand on Jack's knee, fingers tracing idle shapes against his trousers.

"Of course there wasn't. But I learned a few things about Gwen, and she learned a few things about me, and it was all perfectly awkward. She's lonely when she's alone, for one, and she really does love Rhys. Fortunately she's figured out just how good he is for her before the wedding."

Jack nods silently, not offering any commentary, apparently waiting for Ianto to continue. And although he wants to tell Jack more, he also wants to keep some things private, like the things about himself that he inadvertently revealed to Gwen. He chooses his words carefully so as not to disturb the timestream as well.

"She's also very perceptive yet equally clueless for being our police liaison. She noticed immediately that someone else had been staying in my flat."

Jack looks thoughtful. "I bet my shorts were on the sofa from last weekend, weren't they?"

"Yep," Ianto laughs. "Therefore she immediately assumed that I had a boyfriend. Never mind that they could have been mine. I suppose your coat and shoes and the general shambles we left behind Monday morning also gave it away."

Jack grins now. "Yeah, I enjoyed last weekend," he says, edging closer to Ianto. "Maybe we can do it again. You can make it up to me for leaving so much all week."

"That could be arranged," Ianto murmurs, watching Jack's lips and leaning over to kiss him. But Jack continues talking.

"So what did you tell her?"

"Nothing, at first. But she kept going on about it, wanting to know more, wanting to meet him. When she asked me where I'd been Monday night, and then whether I'd been in your bed instead of chasing Weevils like I told her, I couldn't take it. I told her yes, I was in your bed."

"Oooh, then what?" asks Jack. He moves closer, but now it's with the expectant air of hearing a good story, no flirtatious hinting, just unusually intense listening.

"Oh, she asked all sorts of questions—what and where and when, etcetera, etcetera." Ianto doesn't really want to go into details about his conversation with Gwen. It had touched on some things that would be far too awkward to bring up with Jack, such as the casual nature of their relationship, or how Gwen had labeled them a couple anyway.

Jack watches him until Ianto almost squirms. "She made you uncomfortable," he says. "About us." Ianto rolls his eyes.

"She does that to everyone," he replies, hoping to throw Jack off the truth. "You know her. Never leaving well enough alone, always assuming we're all like her and want what she wants, when she wants it. Bit annoying, really."

"Hmm." Jack hums his agreement, but doesn't say anything until he unexpectedly wraps his arm around Ianto and pulls him close. "I'm sorry," he murmurs.

"What the hell for?" asks Ianto. He's pressed tightly to Jack's side and tries to get loose so he can see Jack's face. Jack only holds him tighter.

"I can imagine any number of things she might say that might be awkward," Jack replies. "And I'm sorry I wasn't there to deflect them."

"What, with your usual crass humor?" Ianto suggests, and feels rather than sees Jack shake his head.

"Or with the truth. Gwen assumes a lot of things about people without stopping to think about it from their perspective."

This time Ianto forces himself out of Jack's clutch to look into Jack's face. He is amazed at Jack's insight, and even more surprised to see a gentle sadness in the other man's eyes.

"I didn't think you recognized that about her," Ianto replies.

"It may seem like I'm blind to her faults, but I'm not," Jack says very seriously. "I thought we needed someone like her, and I still do, but I realize she needs a bit of fine tuning."

Ianto snorts and turns away. "You mean suffering. She still sees the world through her rose-colored glasses because what has she lost? Nothing. The rest of us, though…" He trails off, abruptly embarrassed to have said so much once again. First with Gwen, now with Jack. It's as if the disruption to the space-time continuum has also disrupted his brain-mouth filter.

He slides away from Jack and rests his elbows on his knees, head hanging down as he sighs. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Ianto does not look at Jack but imagines him rolling his eyes. "Why? Because it's true? You can be honest with me, you know. Did you say something like that to her?" Warily glancing up, Ianto finds Jack watching him. "Is that how you burst her bubble? Because I can see you two getting into it with the way she pushes. You don't take that sort of thing." He grimaces. "Not like I do, anyway."

"Yeah, that was part of it," Ianto admits. "Look, Jack, I don't want to talk about it right now, all right? It was strange and uncomfortable, but it'll all be over tomorrow."

Jack frowns. "Okay. And how do you know that?"

"It was the first thing I asked her when she appeared in the Hub on Monday. She said it was Friday, I figured she'd time-traveled, and I tucked her away for safekeeping until then."

"Soooo…when she disappears tomorrow, you'll call her back in?" Jack asks, and Ianto nods.

"It'll be like she never left, only she'll be five days older."

Jack nods in understanding. "And how will you two be? After spending several days together?"

Ianto stands and holds out his hand for Jack, deciding that if he doesn't move things downstairs, they could end up talking circles around the subject all night. "I think we'll be fine. I think…well, I hate to admit it, but I feel like now that I know Gwen a bit better, I'm also a bit more…fond of her. Even with all her faults and foibles."

Jack grins as he takes Ianto's hand and follows. "And I'm sure she adores you even more now."

"Actually, she did say something my irresistible side," Ianto offers with a smirk.

"Ooh, what about Rhys?" Jack teases, then stops next to his desk "Hey, what about me? You're not going to run off with her instead, are you?"

"I wasn't aware I had any plans to run off with you," Ianto points out. "I was just hoping for a nice, long shag and a good night's sleep."

"That's all?" Jack asks, his voice hinting at more. Ianto ducks down the ladder into Jack's bunk, head down so Jack can't see his face because he knows Jack would see too much.

"Don't offer what you can't give," he murmurs as he steps to the floor. He glances around the familiar space and is suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of...well, he's not sure, exactly. In spite of what he told Gwen and what he continuously tells himself, sometimes he does want more. With a sigh, he sits down to pull off his shoes, trying to put it out of his mind. Jack sits down beside him and runs a hand down his cheek.

"Who says I am?" he whispers.

"No promises, Jack," Ianto whispers back. "That's not what this is about."

"I missed you," Jack replies. "I see you every day here at the Hub and yet not spending the last few nights with you was hard. I wanted to go out, be with you, lay around and spend the night with you. I missed you."

Ianto lets his head fall back as Jack begins licking and sucking a path from his ear to his jaw and down the side of his neck. "You missed what we usually get up to on dull, quiet nights, especially around here."

"I missed  _you_ , Ianto," Jack says with meaning. He raises his head to meet Ianto's eyes. "And don't let anything Gwen said make you think otherwise."

"It's not like that—" Ianto protests, but Jack stops him with a fierce kiss, then topples them to the bed, straddling Ianto and gazing deep into his eyes.

"Let me show you," he says, then lowers his head to Ianto's neck once more, slowly moving down his body. "I'll make you believe."

After he'd come twice and was lying boneless and exhausted in Jack's bed while Jack cleaned them with a warm flannel, Ianto wasn't sure whether to be thankful Gwen had jumped back in time, or to curse her tiresome meddling. Then again, he had only himself to blame for the feelings in his heart, and Jack to blame for giving him the hope that maybe, just maybe, they were returned.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, but aren't they so cute all messed up and confused? I pictured the moment Jack finds out what's going on as a bit of a comedy of errors and hope it worked. Now to wrap it up tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much for reading, and enjoy the end!


	5. Friday

Friday

It is the brush of fingers along his thigh that rouses Ianto from a deep sleep. Jack is leaning on his elbow, smiling down at him as Ianto blinks the sleep from his eyes and tries to focus on Jack's face, not his roaming hand.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Jack says, leaning down to kiss him. Ianto used to hate kissing with morning breath, but as Jack doesn't seem to mind and is easily the best kisser of all the men and women he's kissed, Ianto gave up that reluctance months ago when he embraced wake-up sex. He lets his eyes drift closed as he returns Jack's kiss, pulling himself close enough to feel Jack's body hard against his.

"What was that for?" Ianto asks when Jack pulls away, still smiling at him. Jack has always been physically affectionate, particularly in the mornings, but there is something else in his eyes that makes Ianto's heart skip that proverbial beat. Ianto had fallen asleep not daring to think that maybe, just maybe, he'd been wrong about some of the things that he'd told Gwen. Jack's comments—as well as his actions—had almost given him hope that perhaps this thing between them meant more to Jack than Ianto assumed it did.

A quick kiss and another grin. "I missed this," Jack replies. "Waking up together, especially at your place."

Ianto isn't sure what to say. Tease Jack about it only being a few days since they last woke up in bed together, or admit he feels the same and possibly scare Jack away? Navigating the murky waters of a sort of casual dating relationship with Jack Harkness has not been easy, and Ianto feels like they are definitely in uncharted territory now. He is terrified of getting lost.

"Jack, I—" he starts, but Jack interrupts him, shaking his head ruefully.

"I know, it was only a few days. It's not like we spend every night together. But something about this time was different. I—"

Ianto stops him before Jack says too much. "I missed it too," he blurts, unable to tease Jack because he'd thought the same thing several times during the week. "I couldn't sleep on Tuesday, ran into Gwen in the kitchen whilst drinking tea."

"Ooh, a midnight rendezvous," he teases. "Do tell."

"Not much to tell," Ianto replies. "That's when she figured out about us and decided she was going to interrogate me the next day."

Jack laughs and rolls on top of him. "I really wish I could have been there," he says, beginning to leave tiny burning kisses along Ianto's stubbled jaw. "Just to see the look on her face when she put all the clues together."

"I thought she'd be upset, but I believe she actually clapped," Ianto tells him. "After the shocked silence, of course."

"Of course," Jack murmurs.

"I'm sort of disappointed that I had to actually tell her, since I always figured she'd walk in on us somewhere and find out that way," Ianto muses. He runs his hands up and down Jack's back, pulling him closer and encouraging him to continue, but Jack keeps talking and laughing.

"You little voyeur!" Jack exclaims. "Admit it, you wanted her to see us making out."

"I admit it," Ianto gasps as Jack's hands begin to roam as well. "Because for a moment it seemed to be the only way she'd believe me."

"Believe what?" Jack asks, glancing into his eyes with a frown. "Believe us?"

Ianto nods and Jack snorts. "She's just jealous," he says before kissing Ianto long and hard.

"Of you," Ianto says when they break for air.

"You wish," Jack replies with a laugh. Ianto joins him, then unexpectedly flips them over and begins to do the same things to Jack that Jack was just doing to him.

"She really latched on to the idea of me having someone outside of Torchwood. 'Jack tells me to hold on to my normal, so I'm telling you. Hold on to your normal.' It was bloody annoying."

To Ianto's surprise, Jack sighs softly and runs a hand along his face, his eyes sad. "Is that what you want?" he asks quietly. "Something normal?"

"I told her I wouldn't know what to do with normal," Ianto replies firmly. "I don't want normal. I just want…" He trails off, unable to say more. Jack seems to understand, though, and pulls him close.

"Are you happy?" he whispers, and Ianto nods.

"Yes, Jack. I'm happy. Please stop worrying so much."

"I feel like Gwen did a number on you," Jack replies, and Ianto smirks.

"Well, not my favorite number, no…"

Jack smack him on the arse and they laugh, plunging their lips together for a long, leisurely kiss.

"Are you happy?" Ianto asks against his lips, terrified of the answer but needing to make sure. Jack flips them over again and they crash into the wall with muffled grunts.

"Except for a bed that's too small for the two of us, yes, I'm happy," Jack replies.

"You could come back to mine tonight," Ianto offers. "It's exceptionally clean and there are still several dozen Welsh cakes in my freezer."

"And your unexpected houseguest will be back in the right time," Jack replies.

"Speaking of which," Ianto says, then pauses to consider his concern. "Are you going to be all right knowing what's happened? It's not going to affect how you interact with her today and change the timeline?"

Jack shrugs. "It shouldn't. I do understand the importance of maintaining the integrity of the original timeline when traveling through time."

"Been there, done that?"

Jack kisses him. "Been there, done with that. I'm linear now, baby."

Ianto kisses him back hard. "Do you do vertical, by any chance?" he asks. Jack grins.

"Shower?"

"Shower. And Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't call me baby."

* * *

At first, Ianto doesn't notice anything different about the morning. He greets the others as usual, makes coffee, then goes down to the archives to tackle a particularly disorganized filing cabinet. He figures it will keep him from thinking too hard about Jack and Gwen and time travel and relationships and other things he doesn't want to think about. He is busy for several hours, so that when he comes up for lunch, quite a few things happen at once.

Present-Gwen makes eyes at him; he frowns, not understanding. A message pops up on his computer from her.  _I need to talk to you. Something's going on._

He swears to himself. She can't possibly suspect anything about her future self waiting to catch up with time in Ianto's flat, can she? It must be something else. She motions toward the old sofa with a file. Maybe there's a case she wants to discuss.

She sits close to him, leaning over the folder and lowering her voice. "Have you noticed anything different about Jack today?" she asks quietly, and he glances at her in surprise.

"Like what?" he wonders out loud, and she hushes him, pretending to point at something in the file. She answers without meeting his eyes.

"He seems a bit sharp today, irritable. Definitely not as…" She frowns. "Not as friendly and flirtatious, I suppose, and almost a bit mean, really."

Ianto lets his eyes slip closed as he starts to piece things together. "What did he say?" he asks, dreading the answer.

"Well, we were tracking down some Weevils by the barrage when I asked him if he had any plans for the weekend. He got awfully defensive, said it was none of my business whom he dated and slept with and maybe I should make more of an effort to get to know the team so I'd see things clearer." She glances up at him with those wide eyes, confused and hurt. "I don't understand what one has to do with the other," she says. "Or what I said wrong."

"You didn't say anything wrong," Ianto replies with a sigh.

"But I feel like I did, because he barely said two words the entire ride back, and then he told me to collate all the Weevil sightings for the last two months to see if there's been an upswing in calls." She pauses and glances around. "Do we usually keep track of Weevil sightings like that?"

"Yes," Ianto replies. "We have a monitoring program set up. Tosh is hoping it might turn out like the Rift predictor someday, although I think Weevils are a bit more random than even the Rift."

"He's up there staring at us, you know," she says, flipping a page in the folder as if they really are talking about the file. Sure enough, Jack is stalking them from the catwalk. "Like he's upset about something and making sure I don't mess up again. Did I mess up on something he's not telling me about?"

Ianto pats her hand, getting the same positive response he'd had from his Gwen back at his flat. "No, you haven't messed up. I think Jack is probably the one messing things up right now, and I need to talk to him before it gets out of hand." He makes to stand up, but she pulls him down.

"No!" she hisses. "Then he'll know that I talked to you! Can't you just tell me what's going on?"

"Actually, I can't," Ianto starts, but before she can protest, his mobile rings, and it's future Gwen. Calling him while he's talking to past Gwen.

"Shit," he murmurs. "Excuse me, I have to take this. I suspect it's an emergency."

He strides away, feeling Jack's eyes on his back. Ducking into a quiet corner, he answers the call. "What is it?" he asks future Gwen. "I was talking to you when you called and that is all sorts of confusing, you know!"

Future Gwen ignores his rant. "I need to talk to you," she says. "Something's going on."

It's the exact same thing present Gwen said to him moments earlier. Which means something is definitely going on.

"What's wrong?" he demands. "Are you all right?"

"Not really," she says. "I feel sort of odd. A massive headache came on out of nowhere, like a migraine only I don't get migraines. I feel sort of lightheaded, almost transparent."

Ianto turns and looks at present Gwen, chewing on her finger as she pretends to study the file she was still holding; not transparent, that's good. He glances up at Jack, still on the catwalk watching both him and Gwen as he nibbles at his thumb the way he does when he's nervous but trying to appear thoughtful. Ianto swears again and turns back to his corner.

"You haven't gone outside, have you? Talked to anyone?"

"No!" she exclaims. "I've been here all night. But all of a sudden I felt this blinding pain behind my eyes. And Ianto…I've had flashes of memories I don't remembering having before."

"Before what?" he demands.

"Before I went back in time," she says. "When we talked about you and Jack the other night, I had no idea you were together. But now I remember things Jack said when we were looking into the Weevils at the barrage. It wasn't about you and him, exactly, but it could have been. He was awfully defensive."

"And you're just remembering this now?" Ianto asks.

"Yes, it's very strange, almost like it happened to a different person."

"It did. It happened to your past self in a past that I suspect is changing as we speak." This time Ianto swears in Welsh.

"What do you mean?" she asks. "Who's changing it? Oh no—Jack?"

"I told him most of the story last night," Ianto admits. "He seemed to understand, but your present self just asked me about his strange behavior on that Weevil call. And he's stalking us from the catwalk with his stormy face in full force."

"Sooo…" She trails off, unable to articulate what's happening to the timestream. Ianto has no such problem.

"So in spite of the fact that Jack was a Time Agent and knows more about time travel than the rest of us combined, apparently he interacted with you in some way that is affecting the timeline enough to trigger a change that's resulted in altered memories and a migraine for you."

"What?" she asks, then: "Never mind. Is it dangerous?" He shrugs even though she can't see him.

"I've no idea," he replies. At that moment, Tosh calls out to the team. "Hang on," he tells Gwen. "Something else is going on."

He covers the phone and steps forward. Jack is racing down the stairs to Tosh's station.

"There are two of them," she says, pointing at her computer. "They look like some sort of bird, only ten times larger. They appeared out of nowhere and are circling the Plass. I'm guessing they're from the Rift. Do you have any idea what they are?"

Jack leans over she shoulder and his eyes go wide. He drops a strong curse. "They're Reapers. Ianto!" he shouts, turning around with an angry look. "My office!" Ianto swears as well and tells future Gwen he'll call her back, disconnecting before she can reply as he dashes toward Jack's office. They shut the door before any of the others can ask what's wrong.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack exclaims. "I thought you had her under control. Reapers only appear to clean up temporal paradoxes!"

"Which you appear to have started," Ianto replies in a far more calm voice, adding, "sir."

"Wait, what?" Jack steps back, his face surprised. "What do you mean, I caused it?"

"Did you say something to Gwen this morning? About us?" Ianto suggests, and Jack frowns.

"She was being her normal nosy self, asking about my weekend, if I had plans with anyone. Then she started talking about the wedding. I sort of told her off. " He tucks his hands into his pockets. "I might have said a few other things, but I didn't tell her about us!"

"Apparently you said enough to change her thinking, which appears to be changing the timeline. Present Gwen just asked me about it, and while I was talking to her, my Gwen…I mean," Ianto backtracks when Jack raises an eyebrow and smirks at him, "I mean, future Gwen called me almost immediately claiming she had a head full of slightly fuzzy memories that were giving her a migraine."

"Damn," says Jack. "So I acted a bit funny around her—I wasn't trying to, honestly!—and now that's changing history?"

"The Reapers would appear ready to reap, sir," Ianto pointed out, motioning to the CCTV screens behind Jack's desk.

"It's always the smallest things," Jack murmurs, staring at them. "All right, what do we do?"

Ianto goggles at him. "With all due respect, you're the former Time Agent!"

"Right," says Jack, running a hand through his hair. "One hundred and forty odd years ago. According to protocol, we need to contain the situation when the timeline is compromised and attempt to correct it."

"How? Containing and correcting it might change it even more!"

"I don't know," Jack says, throwing up his hands. "I never bungled a job. How about we lock her up? Both of her, so neither one of them can change anything."

"Jack, she didn't do anything!" Ianto exclaims. "You did. And if we lock up present Gwen, it will definitely change the past for future Gwen. Future Gwen never said anything about you putting her in the cells for her own good, and that's not something she would forgot!"

"Probably true," says Jack. "All right. Then lock me up."

"Why?" asks present Gwen, walking in without asking. "Jack, what's going on?"

Jack is about to snap at her when Ianto steps forward and turns her gently around. "I'll explain outside," he says, taking her arm. He glances over his shoulder at Jack. "You, sir, need a nap. I'd suggest a few hours in your bunk. I'll get some paracetamol from Owen and check on you in a moment."

Jack looks about to protest, but Ianto flashes his eyes at him. Jack scowls and nods, ignoring Gwen and climbing down into his bunk.

"Is he all right?" she asks. "I knew something was wrong. He was so off this morning!"

"He's not feeling well," Ianto lies smoothly. "I think he might have died last night. There was blood on the floor of the medical bay when I came in this morning."

She frowns. "He went out alone again? He really needs to stop doing that."

"Yes, he does," Ianto says.

"Why lock him up then?" she asks, and Ianto offers his 'Don't you get it?' smile.

"Because if we don't, he'll never give himself the chance to recover. Even Jack needs to rest once in a while. So as long as he stays below for the afternoon where he can't bellow at the rest of us, I won't really lock him up. Excuse me, I said I'd bring him some painkillers."

Ianto ignores Owen and grabs some painkillers and water from the medical bay before heading back to Jack's office and down into his bunk. Jack is pacing back and forth.

"This is not good," he says, and Ianto is surprised to see him so rattled.

"It'll be fine. I'll keep an eye on both Gwens and make sure nothing out of the ordinary happens that could affect either one of them or their memories. You stay down here."

"But I need to—" Jack starts, but Ianto shakes his head.

"You need to stay out of sight. If you're inadvertently creating this paradox, doesn't that mean the Reapers will come after you?"

"I suppose…" Jack says with a confused frown.

"Well, then." Ianto nods his head, the situation settled as far as he's concerned. "I don't fancy watching you get ripped to shreds because your a loose tongue disrupted the timeline." He holds up a hand. "And please don't say a word about your loose tongue."

"I wasn't going to," Jack says, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I was going to apologize."

"What for?" asks Ianto.

"For mucking it up. I let what you told me about Gwen get to me, when it clearly didn't get to you."

Ianto studies him, then walks over and puts his arms around Jack's waist. "It did get to me," he says softly. "I'm just good at hiding it."

"I'm good at hiding things," Jack protests, and Ianto laughs softly as he steps away.

"Not when it comes to her."

"You mean not when it comes to  _you,"_  he says, and pulls Ianto back for a long, passionate kiss. It leaves Ianto in a bit of a daze, Jack grinning smugly. "You sure you'd rather not keep an eye on me instead? What did you tell her, anyway?"

"That you went out on a call by yourself last night, died, and needed time to recover. She seemed to accept it." He turns toward the ladder. "Now all I have to do is get her mind off whatever bug you put in her ear and keep things under control for a few more hours."

"Good luck," Jack murmurs.

"What will you do?" Ianto asks, one foot on the ladder.

"I don't know," he shrugs. "Take a nap, maybe. Read a book. Knit."

"Right," Ianto snorts. "I'll bring you some paperwork, then I'm locking your office door and restricting your computer access. No contact with Gwen."

"You make it sound like I did something wrong!" Jack shouts up at him. "I didn't, you know!"

Ianto looks down at him. "I know. I told Gwen the same thing when this all started. It's for the timeline, Jack."

"You really owe me now," Jack grumbles.

"Already making plans, sir," Ianto sends back. He breathes a sigh of relief as he leaves Jack's office, at least until he runs straight into Tosh and Owen. Owen asks what's wrong with Jack, while Tosh asks about the Reapers. Ianto ignores Owen, then lies and tells Tosh he'll get the files from the Archives, but that Jack seems to think they're harmless and should be on their way in a bit. He strides past them to Gwen, who is sitting at her computer looking sad and confused.

"Jack wanted you to know he's sorry about this morning," Ianto tells her softly. "He said he was definitely feeling out of sorts."

"I know," she says. "It's all right."

"Out of curiosity, what was the context of the conversation that bothered him so much?" Ianto asks as delicately as he can so as not to arouse suspicions, but Gwen is such a vocal busybody she offers it freely.

"I told you, I asked him about his weekend. I don't even remember how it came up. I think he was mumbling something about tonight."

"That's odd," Ianto replies. Gwen nods.

"It was. I asked if he had any special plans, and he said he had a hot date tonight!"

"Oh," says Ianto. It suddenly starts to make sense.

"So I asked about it and he was his usual tight-lipped self. I suggested he bring his date to the wedding and he ignored me. So I said something about how none of you are bringing anyone to the wedding. Who are you going to dance with? I asked. And he got this really strange look and said…" She trails off, swallowing. "Well, he said 'I'm going to dance with Ianto, of course.'"

Ianto coughs to cover his exclamation. That was why the Reapers were hanging out on the Plass, then. "Well, you know Jack. Equal opportunity dance partner."

"He said it like it was so obvious," she murmurs, gazing away. "When I laughed, he got angry and suggested I open my eyes and take a good, hard look at what was going on around me. He didn't say anything on the way back and has been like this ever since."

Ianto sighs as he hangs his head and spins another story, some of it unfortunately true. "He's lonely, Gwen," he tells her quietly. "I suppose bringing up the wedding and dancing probably brought that all home for him."

"I didn't mean to," she says, and he pats her hand.

"I know," he says. "But if you think about it, it makes sense. Rough night, tough questions, he's bound to lash out. I think he'll be fine in a few hours."

"Thanks, Ianto," she says, squeezing his hand. "But…what did he mean when he said, 'I'll be dancing with Ianto, of course."

Even though his heart skips a beat again at the thought of dancing with Jack at Gwen's wedding, Ianto forces himself to smile blandly. "I suspect he's simply including it under my job description, although I've never met a PA who doubled as a dance partner."

She laughs again, so innocent and naïve, that Ianto understands why Jack was offended. "You don't have to dance with Jack," she tells him, then leans forward coyly. "I'll introduce you to some of Rhys's family, he has some adorable cousins."

Ianto jumps up. "Right. Coffee?" he asks, and he dashes away before they can mangle the timeline even more. His mobile rings as he's leaning over the sink trying to stretch away the tension he feels in his shoulders.

"Ianto, I'm sorry I offered to set you up with Rhys's cousins," says future Gwen on the other end of the line.

"Doesn't matter," he says, juggling the phone under his chin.

"I didn't know," she says.

"I know."

There is a long silence on the other end of the phone. "So are you going to dance with Jack, then?"

"Do you think Owen will take the piss out of me?" Ianto asks dryly, and Gwen laughs.

"Probably," she says. "But maybe if you offer to dance with him too he'll lay off."

"I doubt he'll do either," Ianto says. He runs a hand through his hair, the pressure of maintaining the timeline too much at that moment, not to mention the thought of dancing with Jack at Gwen's wedding completely insane.

"Ianto? Will you save a dance for me?" Gwen asks, and Ianto smiles. Five days ago he might have found the thought intolerable, but things have changed, and he nods.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it. As long as Rhys doesn't mind."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be incredibly jealous when I tell him I spent the week with another gorgeous Welshman," she laughs.

"Jack thought I might run away with you after spending the last few days together," Ianto tells her, and they both laugh this time.

"I told you he was jealous!" she crows. Tosh calls out to him then, and Ianto remembers the Reapers. He wonders if he's staved off a paradox with Jack and his Gwens.

"Look, I need to go. Call me if you have any more funny memories pop into your head, yeah?"

"I will," she says. "And you call me if I say anything else stupid so I can apologize."

"There's nothing to apologize for. Let's just get through the next few hours and go from there, all right?"

They end the call and Ianto hurries over to Tosh, who informs him that one of the Reapers seems to have disappeared; the other is circling high above the Plass, though strangely enough, there have been no calls about it at all.

"You know what they really are, don't you?" she asks. "You're acting funny, Jack's gone into hiding…Ianto, what's going on?"

He lays a hand on her shoulder. "I'll tell you everything as soon as the other one leaves, Tosh. It's a bit complicated." Which was definitely the understatement of the week.

"Are they dangerous?" she asks. "Can you tell me that much?"

"I really can't say anything, Tosh," he says. He feels bad fobbing her off, almost as bad as lying to Jack. "Please trust me when I say it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with maintaining the integrity of the current timeline."

Her eyes go wide and she nods, and for some reason he's moved to kiss her on the cheek. "Thank you," he tells her. "It's been a long week and I appreciate the support."

Ianto checks the CCTV and decides to go outside have a look at the Reaper himself. He grabs a latte from the local coffee shop, then sits and watches the creature drift lazily over the bay. Pondering the strange week he's had, Ianto is surprised to realize that while he had dreaded dealing with the issue on Monday, he's glad that he did. It's given him some insight into himself, into Jack, and more than anyone, into Gwen. He feels as if his relationship with Jack is actually a bit more stable, and that his friendship with Gwen is less strained. Smiling to himself, he watches the Reaper drift farther and farther away.

He is interrupted in his contemplations by his mobile. Tosh informs him there is a Rift alert, most likely some sort of small retrieval. Ianto realizes that it's probably the right time for them to find the device that brought Gwen back in time, but that he's missing some important details if this is going to go the way it is supposed to. He tells Tosh to wait for him, then hangs up and calls future Gwen. As he's waiting for her to pick up, he idly wonders why his calls and texts haven't gone to present Gwen's mobile phone, and decides it must be another one of those timey-whimey things Jack bangs on about. Tosh could probably explain it, though.

"Who went on the retrieval?" he asks when Gwen picks up.

"I didn't tell you?" she asks. "God, we almost messed that up, didn't we? Tosh and Owen went out on the call. I was the duffer who picked it up when they got back."

"All right," says Ianto, hurrying down to the Hub. "We just got the alert, so I'll take care of it. See you in a bit."

Jack is pacing in his office looking frustrated. Ianto had locked the door but they both know Jack is perfectly capable of using his wrist strap to get out. That he's stayed means he understands the situation and trusts Ianto to deal with it. Ianto hurries up the stairs, Tosh eyeing him thoughtfully while Gwen and Owen watch in confusion.

"Is this it?" Jack asks as soon as Ianto lets himself in. When Ianto nods, Jack breathes a sigh of relief. "Good. All right, who goes on the call?"

"I just spoke to future Gwen, apparently it was Tosh and Owen. Or will be. She was curious when they brought it back and touched it without thinking. Or will." Time travel was hell on proper grammar.

Jack snorts. "Of course she will. All right, send them out, and let your Gwen know she's about to catch up to herself."

"Yes, sir," Ianto says and turns to leave, but Jack catches his hand. He leans forward as if to kiss him, but Ianto steps back.

"Reapers, Jack," he murmurs, and Jack swears as he drops Ianto's hand.

"I cannot wait until this is over and we can go home, " he says.

"Inviting yourself badk to mine?" Ianto asks lightly, though his heart is thumping wildly in his chest. Jack called his flat home. What the hell did that mean?

"You already did this morning," Jack replies. "And if you didn't, I'd invite myself over anyway. I'll bring food and wine and we can stay in bed all weekend."

"Rift willing," Ianto murmurs, and Jack nods. "Or we could go out tomorrow?" Ianto suggests, the idea appearing out of the blue. "Dancing, maybe?"

Jack's eyes go wide and he licks his lips and it's all Ianto can do to not lean forward and kiss Jack right there for everyone to see. "Or not," he says, his voice hoarse and his trousers tight. "If you'd rather—"

"I'd love to," Jack says. "It's a date."

"It's a date," Ianto echoes, staring at Jack's lips. "Right. I need to send Tosh and Owen out on that call."

"Maybe you could find something for Gwen to do?" Jack suggests with his usual complete lack of subtlety. Ianto's mobile rings; of course it's Gwen, his Gwen.

"I went to the archives after Tosh and Owen left," she says without preamble. "You told me to look up flying monkeys."

"Right," says Ianto, grinning at Jack. "I'll do that right now."

"Have fun with Jack!" she laughs and hangs up.

"Gwen's going to the archives," Ianto announces with a smirk. "I will see you back here in ten."

Ianto sends Tosh and Owen out on the retrieval, getting a supportive nod from Tosh but the usual grumbling from Owen. He asks Gwen to start searching the archives for flying monkeys, turning around before she can ask him what flying monkeys have to do with anything. He returns as quickly as he can to Jack's office, where he is grabbed the second he walks through the door. They push and pull their way to the ladder leading to Jack's bunker, barely making it down the rungs without tumbling on top of another, somehow naked by the time they reach Jack's bed.

Twenty minutes later, Ianto is back upstairs when Tosh calls to inform them that they've found some sort of alien device and are heading back to the Hub with it. Ianto makes some coffee, calls Gwen back up from the Archives, where the only reference to flying monkeys she found was from a 1987 stage production of The Wizard of Oz, and informs Jack that he's almost finished with his temporary confinement to quarters.

Tosh and Owen bring in the containment box. Ianto watches closely, trying to time the situation as best as he can. Jack is back on the catwalk, having let himself out of his office to watch. When present Gwen moves toward the box asking questions, Ianto sends a text to his Gwen and quietly slips upstairs to the tourist office to meet her. Within moments, Gwen—once from the future, now caught up—is there and throws her arms around him.

"Welcome back," he says with a grin as he steps back. He holds out his elbow. "Ready to catch up with yourself?"

"I'm ready!" she exclaims as she links arms with him. "I really want to go home and see Rhys, but I think we need to explain things to the rest of the team, so let's do this."

"I confined Jack to his office," Ianto tells her. "He'll be glad it's all over. Although hopefully he won't say anything awkward to you now."

"We'll handle it together if he does," Gwen replies. They step into the lift and Ianto's Bluetooth goes off. It's Tosh, sounding slightly panicked.

"Are you still here?" she asks, and Ianto holds back a laugh.

"I'm on my way back down, Tosh."

"Good, because Gwen's disappeared. She touched the artifact we retrieved and was just…gone! And Jack says not to worry about it."

As they step out of the lift they can hear Owen yelling at Jack about his lack of concern over Gwen's disappearance. They walk into the Hub, still arm and arm, and others look up at them, two faces stunned, one breaking into a relieved grin.

"See, Owen!" Jack exclaims. "No worries!"

"What the hell," mutters Owen, and Ianto takes a moment to enjoy pulling one over on Owen.

"Welcome back, Gwen Cooper!" Jack says, still grinning. "Have a good week off?"

"What?" asks Owen as Tosh says, "Welcome back from where?"

"All thanks to Ianto," Gwen laughs. Ianto inclines his head as Tosh and Owen continue to stare, only now they are focused on him.

"What the hell is going on?" Owen demands. "Because obviously you three know something we don't."

"I think you'd be used to it," Ianto remarks blandly, enjoying the way Owen takes a breath to retort, only Tosh cuts him off.

"You jumped back in time, didn't you?" she asks Gwen. "You touched the artifact we picked up this afternoon, disappeared into the past, and walked in as soon as you caught up to yourself."

Now it is everyone else's turn to stare at Tosh, who crosses her arms and gives a reproving look. "And you knew about it," she accuses him, though she's smiling. "That's why you couldn't tell me anything about the creatures outside. You said you were maintaining the integrity of the timeline."

"I bow to your superior powers of deduction," he murmurs. Jack shakes his head.

"You're way too clever for your own good, sometimes, Tosh. You've ruined a good story!"

Tosh blushes. "Oh, no. I'm sure that's not even half of it. If you've been gone all week, what have you been up to? Where's the device? What is it? How—"

Jack laughs as he puts an arm around Tosh. "Why don't we meet in the conference room and Gwen and Ianto can fill us in. I'm sure there are still things I don't know." He pauses. "And that's a good question: where is the device that did this?"

Ianto tucks his hands into his pockets. "Where I put it five days ago, in a locked containment box down in the archives, filed under Gwen Cooper's Time Toy."

They meet in the conference room. Ianto brings coffee and Gwen brings some of the Welsh cakes she made during the week. She is the one who tells their story: how she disappeared back in time, how Ianto put her up for the week, and before he can stop her, how her memories started changing that morning.

Jack coughs delicately. "Yes, well, I think some of that was my fault." He tells the others about how his conversation with Gwen that morning triggered the Reapers' appearance, though he does not go into detail and Gwen does not add anything, sharing a secret smile with Ianto. Tosh is obviously fascinated, while Owen shakes his head muttering something about bloody Torchwood under his breath. Fortunately, Gwen does not say anything about the heart to heart talks at his flat either, and Ianto is able to remain silent for most of the meeting. It is almost time for dinner when they are finished with their stories and questions.

Jack tells everyone to go home, and though Gwen is obviously eager to leave, she asks if she can speak to Jack and Ianto privately for a moment. Tosh and Owen shrug and leave for the night, while Ianto follows her and Jack into Jack's office. Although he's felt remarkably comfortable with Gwen since she returned, now he is somewhat leery of being with both her and Jack, knowing her singular ability to make things uncomfortable.

To his surprise, she is the one who appears awkward. "Jack, I know Ianto told you what was going on last night. I don't know how much he told you, but…" She trails off, and Jack nods brusquely for her to continue, his face a mask.

"Enough," he says. Ianto knows Jack's tells, however, and he can see that Jack is enjoying Gwen's discomfort.

"Well, I…I know about you and Ianto," she tells him. "I mean, I spent the last week at his flat, and it was hard to miss. I thought…well, I thought he was seeing someone, but I had no idea it was you."

"We're sneaky like that," Jack deadpans. Gwen shakes her head.

"No, as you both pointed out in your own ways, I don't always see things clearly. And I'm sorry," she says, meeting both their eyes. "I'm sorry about some of the things I said—about seeing other people or, god forbid, fixing you up with other people." Jack raises an eyebrow at that and Ianto mouths 'Later.'

Gwen misses it and continues. "I wanted to say three things." She steps closer to Ianto and kisses him on the cheek. "I'm sorry for everything that's happened this week, but thank you for saving me from destroying the universe," she tells him. "I'm glad it was you. I enjoyed staying with you, even if I was a right pain in the arse."

He rolls his eyes as he pulls her into an embrace. "It wasn't so bad," he says. "Good wine, bad movies, way too much talking." They laugh and Gwen steps away.

"You're amazing, Ianto Jones," she says, and turns to Jack. "And you're a lucky man, Jack Harkness."

Jack looks somewhat put out at Gwen's newfound affection toward Ianto, as well as surprised at her words to him. But he stands and comes around his desk, hands tucked into his pockets, smiling at Ianto. His heart does that thing again and he wonders if he needs to see Owen.

"I know," Jack says softly.

"Good," she nods. "So I'm sorry, thank you, but can I go home to Rhys now? And can I have tomorrow off?"

Jack raises an eyebrow. "You had the entire week off."

"Jack," she starts, and he laughs, shooing her toward the door.

"Stay home, but on call," he says. "Tosh and Owen will be in, but it's supposed to be quiet tomorrow so I'm planning on taking Ianto out like he deserves."

"Brilliant!" she replies. "I hope you don't mine if take him out too sometime. As a thank you."

"That's not necessary," Ianto tells her, but she shakes her head.

"Of course it is. Maybe we could even double date sometime," she suggests.

"Ah, no," Ianto says. The wide-eyed look on Jack's face confirms his answer. "Go home to Rhys, Gwen. Show him what you missed all week."

She grins that gap-toothed grin, waves at them both, and practically bounces out of the Hub. Ianto turns to Jack, and they both release a sigh of relief, then immediately start laughing about the entire situation. Double dating with Gwen and Rhys? It caps off the entire week of unreality with a final two-finger salute to normality.

"Let's go home," says Jack. Ianto tries to ignore the warm feeling Jack's words spread through his chest. It's the second time Jack has said it like that. He nods, they clean up and shut down the Hub, and twenty minutes later, they are heading back to Ianto's flat. They stop at the nearest grocery and pick up food and wine, Jack apparently planning to make good on his suggestion that they stay in bed all weekend.

When they get back to the flat, they are surprised to find the table set for two, complete with flowers and candles. There is a note in the center of the table, done up with hearts and smiles and familiar handwriting.

_Enjoy your dinner, boys. Check the refrigerator!_

In the refrigerator they find a baking dish wrapped in aluminum foil, a salad, and a chilled bottle of wine. There is a second note taped to the dish.

_I tried my best to make Rhys's lasagna. If it's bollocks, I'll bring some from home next time he cooks. Don't forget dessert in the freezer, plus fresh bread on the counter!_

Dessert is a frozen pie, and a fresh loaf of Italian bread is waiting on the counter to be cut and served. Ianto is slightly stunned by the third note, addressed to him alone.

_I owe you more than dinner, Ianto Jones. The entire universe owes you more than dinner. You have been a true friend, teammate, and unsung hero this week. I will miss our late night talks, even if there were only two of them. I wish you all the happiness in the world and look forward to our upcoming dance. I hope you dance with Jack too. It'll stun my stuffy old aunts._

Ianto laughs out loud at Gwen's note. Jack raises a curious eyebrow and Ianto hands him the note as he preheats the oven. Jack laughs quietly and begins to put away the food they no longer need. "Tomorrow night?" he suggests.

"I thought we were going dancing?" Ianto replies. He is half hoping Jack says no, let's stay in and cook, but Jack's face lights up instead.

"You bet we are. We can cook an early dinner, then paint the town red."

Ianto groans as he opens the wine and pours them a glass. "People don't talk like that anymore, you know."

"I'm not most people," Jack replies. Ianto raises his glass to Jack's.

"No, you're certainly not."

"It's why you like me," Jack says, grinning madly.

"Might be," Ianto says. "It's certainly never boring."

Jack ignores him and continues. "It's why I like you," he says, moving in closer. "Because you're not most people either."

Ianto hums noncommittally, unsure of Jack's hidden meaning, if any. Jack leans in closer, his lips grazing Ianto's ear. "You're mine," he whispers. "And I'm yours."

Ianto is tempted to make a teasing comment about breaking into song, but Jack appears so sincere, he can't. He swallows the lump in his throat and nods, which Jack takes as permission to kiss the living daylights out of him, leaving him weak at the knees and leaning on the counter for support. After sliding the baking dish into the oven, Ianto grabs Jack's hands and leads him toward the bedroom. Where he finds one last surprise.

The bed is made. The room is cleaned. There are more candles, and even a rose on his pillow. And another note.

_Look what I found in Jack's drawer!_

Jack's eyes widen as he sees what Gwen apparently found, while Ianto bursts into laughter, because he knows perfectly well Jack had no such thing in his drawer. He pulls Jack onto the bed with him, and for one of the first times since he joined Torchwood, Ianto thinks he's had a fairly good week.

Which is only about to get better thanks to Gwen Cooper and her time traveling alien puzzle toy.

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End!  
> I hope everyone enjoyed that. It was such fun to write. Challenging, to stay in present tense as well as stay in canon and believable, but I think I've managed. For those of you who enjoy a Gwen and Ianto friendship, it's the start of one; for those of you who enjoy a good Gwen-gets-taken-down-a-notch-by-Ianto, it's that too. And of course there is plenty of Jack and Ianto, both light-hearted and serious. Please consider leaving a review if you haven't already, I'd love to know what you thought! And now that I'm done posting, I can concentrate on some works in progress. Thank you again for all the kudos!


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